Assemblyman Will Barclay today (March 8) said that 64% of local business owners surveyed said they would have to cut jobs if New York adopted the $15 minimum wage mandate.
Nearly 100 local business owners completed the survey.
Respondents ranged from those who employ a small staff to those who employ as many as 200 people.
Out of those surveyed, 90.6% said they oppose the mandate.
Over and over again, business owners stated they’d have to increase prices, which would make them less competitive.
They said the price increase would erode their customer base which would lead to more job layoffs.
Others indicated they would automate where they could, cut benefits, and hire more experienced workers over those employees without experience, which would create fewer opportunities for our youth.
Others noted they would close and move out of New York.
Farmers who responded said they feared this would make local produce more expensive and threaten jobs in agriculture.
“My deepest worries were confirmed when I read through the survey responses. The $15 minimum wage mandate would kill jobs and small businesses, make our state less competitive and increase costs for consumers. It has real potential to increase poverty,” said Barclay. “This is the complete, wrong direction of trying to help people in New York state and improve the economy. This is just one more mandate that business owners would have to have to fight against to try and be successful in New York.”
The survey featured yes or no questions but also a place for business owners to write their thoughts.
Many took the time to write and share their concerns.
Here are a few quotes from the survey.
“New York State cannot afford to put more people out of work via increase in minimum wage. We need more industry and large companies to help our state grow. Increasing the minimum wage will force small businesses to cut staff and thus decrease jobs”
Another wrote: “We would like to see programs that retain and encourage growth in NY businesses. Wage increases will not accomplish this.”
A shop owner wrote: “I believe that the increase would result in more automation in big box stores and a reduction in customer service across the board. I also suspect that it will lead to business closings in New York…and more unemployment.”
Barclay said he was pleased there were so many responses and thanked those who responded.
“I am pleased to have this valuable feedback, so I can share these viewpoints with my colleagues in Albany. These responses are further evidence that a $15 minimum wage mandate would hurt our region and cause us to lose jobs,” said Barclay.
Barclay noted that the National Federation of Independent Businesses is hosting its annual Small Business Day in Albany today, where thousands of small businesses are lobbying to oppose the governor’s $15 minimum wage mandate.
Barclay said that it’s a good sign to see legislators and the business community joining together to push back on this mandate, since small businesses make up 98 percent of employers in New York State and a little over 50 percent of employees in New York State work for a small business.
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Shocking! A Republican oligarch is against raising the minimum wage! And he even included all the standard talking points and Republican scare tactics! Good to know.
Ooh the Job Creators will take your jobs rather than pay you more ! Be afraid! Be very afraid!
Am I not the only one that is concerned about the people like myself that have worked for a company for almost ten years and make 15$ an hour? I am pretty sure that my employer isn’t going to come up with a 5 dollar raise. So I will be making “minimum wage”? Does anyone else see that this is a terrible idea and Cuomo needs to go!
If this $15/hr. mayhem gets through then the “dollar” menu will turn into the “ten dollar” menu; it won’t work!
Amen Joanne!
Republicans,
You can either have workers paid a living wage or you can have workers on Food Stamps and Medicaid.
What the experience of the 20th Century achieved is that you cannot have workers paid poorly and not have a social safety net.
Hail! Hail! FDR!
Joanne, why won’t your employer give you five bucks more? Are you and your co workers poorly organized?
Progressives are trying to make it so everyone of a middling economic station, whether you or the McDonald’s fast food worker, has it easier. The way you achieve that is to take it back from Wall Street, from CEOs, from Hedge Fund Managers, from the entire economic class of people that has rigged the economy in their own favor.
By thinking like Joanne, Robert and Wendy you are advancing the rich person’s argument. If you’re still mad at the poor (and even the despised class of “lazy,” the Hudders and so forth) instead of the rich you simply do not understand what small ‘d’ democratic politics is about.
People on welfare will not work for 15. What lose food stamps, housing, medical……
I have a friend who lives in California where the $15/hr. minimum wage has already been implemented. He tells me that he stopped by his favorite coffee shop and found the prices had been raised to cover the increase labor cost. His immediate response was to stop going out for morning coffee and I’ll wager that his response is typical. As I recall, there was a lot of moaning and groaning when property taxes were dramatically increased locally. There’s not much else you can do about taxes, but I’ll bet that people find that raising the minimum wage doesn’t trickle uphill any more than the effect of reduced taxes trickles downhill.
I also believe that if they raise minimum wage they will also raise the food stamp eligibility — I don’t believe it will stop those from still collecting benefits. I believe minimum wage will be the “new” poverty level and those that collect now will still collect – while those that are working very hard not to be on the welfare system still struggle. In the long run I see them making the $15 hr., collecting food stamps getting the same amount and still living better than those of us that won’t participate in welfare.
15$ an hour for unskilled labor is absurd! Most jobs at fast food businesses are for students and or retired individuals and are not designed to support a family. This will hurt the economy tremendously in my opinion and not only drive the prices up but drive the unemployment rates up as well. In todays society, we have instilled in the minds of our younger generation that they are entitled to everything and responsible for nothing and the world owes them a living. If you want to make that kind of money go to college, or get some training at a trade school and work for it like the rest of us did!
If YOU Mr. Barclay did what you always say when you run for office and bought some high wage jobs to your area or worked to bring any jobs to your area, then we wouldn’t need minimum wages to increase. Again let the rich get richer. I think Mr. Walmart and Mr McDonald’s can afford to pay a living wage. The CEOs could take a pay cut for a year and probably pay a years salery. Instead of sending out serveys do some job hunting. PS. Give up on Nine Mile and start looking on bringing other jobs to the area. Worst unemployment in NY is in YOUR DISTRICT…….
It’s amazing to read the harshness and judgment directed at human beings who serve fast food that lots of Americans of all economic levels eat.
People from all walks of life work at fast food places for a living, not just the very young or retired.
It’s a job. If it’s important enough to hire people to do it, then it’s reasonable for the workers, and those in solidarity with them, to struggle for a living wage.
The world owes “them” a living? They’re working! They’re earning a living! They need a little more to survive, the rich can afford it. Aren’t we all in this together?
I think the Wall Street folks and the CEOs have their own sense of entitlement. Like, they feel entitled to fortunes and levels of wealth inequality not seen since the 1920s or even the Guilded Age. That’s ok though right? Rich people rigged the economy, have accumulated more for themselves and less for everybody else, done so through corrupt campaign financing, essentially legalized bribery, and we’re supposed to look at that as right and just? Oh they just work the hardest? C’mon man.