(Newswire.net — September 11, 2015) — New York – By raising the minimum wage for fast food workers to $15 per hour, New York become the first US state that has agreed to raise the industry’s wages that high. The governor promised he would try to increase the minimum wage for all other industries as well, NBC New York reported.
The wage increase will affect approximately 200,000 fast food workers in the state, officials said.
“If you work full-time, you shouldn’t have to live in poverty—plain and simple,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
“The truth is, it’s wrong to have an economy where the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, where the American dream of mobility and opportunity has become more of a cruel myth,” Cuomo said at a New York City event with Vice President Joe Biden at his side.
Currently, New York’s minimum wage of $8.75 is set to hit $9 per hour by the end of the year. Unions greeted $15 per hour proposal, however, it might be too soon to opening the Champaign.
According to financial experts, the raise of minimum wages in New York could be a very difficult if not impossible task. The state Senate is currently controlled by Republicans who have opposed the wage increase and demand even smaller hikes.
In addition, restaurant owners and fast food companies may file a lawsuit against the mandated raise, arguing that it would be impossible for them to run their business with minimum wages that high.
“We are disappointed with the decision today to sign off on a recommendation from a wage board that was created to target a single industry and will cause a host of negative unintended consequences,” said Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association, to CNN Money.
Supporters, however, argued that wages have failed to keep up with the rising cost of living, and they continued to push for more raises across the US.
While sites such as Los Angeles and Seattle have successfully passed the minimum wage laws, the New York would be the first state to actually do so.
Welcoming the fast food wage increase, Vice President Biden said on Thursday that the move by Governor Cuomo is “going to have a profound impact,” to other governors.
“You’re going to make every single governor in every single state in America look at themselves,” Biden said.