LANSING – Oakland County Democrats today hailed a victory in the fight to raise Michigan's minimum wage after the Republican-controlled Senate voted to raise Michigan's long-dormant minimum wage to $7.40 an hour. The Democrats pledged to pressure House Republicans to follow suit.
"Despite the rapidly increasing cost of living, the federal minimum wage has remained unchanged for nearly a decade," said State Representative Marie Donigan (D-Royal Oak). "Now, Michigan is finally rewarding hard work and giving our young families a boost. The Republicans realized the truth in what we've been saying all along: Raising the minimum wage is long overdue."
The Senate today passed a plan to raise Michigan's minimum wage to $7.40 an hour by July 2008, up from the current $5.15 an hour, which was the federal rate passed in 1997. Democrats urged House Republicans to raise the wage, too.
"A day's work deserves fair pay," State Representative Paul Condino (D-Southfield) said. "Everything is more expensive now than it was in 1997. If we value hard work, Michigan's minimum wage must be adjusted to reflect inflation."
Democrats tried to force numerous votes on the issue, which Republicans repeatedly defeated. For more than a year, House Democrats held Town Hall meetings and press conferences across the state to rally public support for a higher minimum wage. A higher wage would help more than 400,000 people in Michigan – many of them the sole breadwinners of their families – and boost local economies. The value of the dollar is at its lowest point since 1949.
"It's an outrage to me that, in this time of economic hardship, my GOP colleagues would continually refuse to support working families," said State Representative Aldo Vagnozzi (D-Farmington/Farmington Hills). "Republicans can't continue to ignore the public's call to pass this legislation. It's time to give Michigan's workers a raise."
Michigan would be the 17th state plus the District of Columbia to have a minimum wage higher than the federal rate.