NC Dems push again to raise minimum wage

They spoke Tuesday at a press conference for a campaign called Raising Wages NC, made up of labor groups and advocates for minority and lower-income workers.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, 29 states and the District of Columbia have raised their minimum wages above the federal floor of $7.25 per hour, set in 2009. North Carolina has not.

The group is asking state legislative leaders to consider raising the state's wage to $12 an hour by 2020 and $15 per hour by 2022.

According to supporters, 1.3 million North Carolinians – about a third of the state's workforce – work for minimum wage. Ninety-two percent are adults. Sixty-two percent work full-time. More than half are women, and more than half are non-white.

Critics of the idea say increasing the minimum wage will cost jobs and reduce economic growth by driving up prices and the cost of living. Advocates say there's no evidence of that in the many places where raises have been implemented. Instead, they say it's good for business because it puts more money into the economy, stimulating demand and creating jobs.

Jeremiah Jaynes, a minimum-wage worker from Waynesville who spoke at the event, offered a bleak assessment of life at $7.25 an hour.

"The American Dream isn't just out of my reach, it's dead," Jaynes said. "Everybody that I know is in the same position. Everybody’s working all the time, work their life away, and never make a living. I can’t afford to live where my family has been for generations."

MaryBe McMillan, president of the state AFL-CIO, called $7.25 a poverty wage, noting that a worker with a dependent can work 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, and still be below the federal poverty level.

"No one who works full-time should be living in poverty, but unfortunately, more than half the jobs created since the late 2000s pay poverty wages," McMillan said. "Forty-seven percent of workers in our state earn less than $15 an hour."

Rep. Susan Fisher, D-Buncombe, acknowledged that Republican leaders are no more likely this year than last to consider the proposal. But she said it's essential to "continue the conversation."

"Working people in this state cannot wait. They're living day to day on the bare minimum," Fisher said. "I would suggest to leadership in this General Assembly that waiting any longer is unacceptable."