New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio advocated for the $15 minimum wage Monday while marching in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The march through Harlem followed a civil rights policy forum hosted by the National Action Network. The organization was founded by Rev. Al Sharpton who also joined the march. The crowd included elected officials, civil rights leaders and community activists. Nearly all of the elected officials who spoke used part of their time to advocated for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, reports The Wall Street Journal.
“Reverend Dr. King was about one thing and that fact was action,” Cuomo said according to The New York Post. “We tend to think of Dr. King as such a beautiful speaker and a man of words, but more, he was a man of action. He’s a man who would say, ‘Get things done.’”
Participants noted King wasn’t just a civil rights leaders but also a huge supporter of worker rights. The $15 minimum wage is a popular policy in the state. Sixty-two percent of state residents already support the $15 minimum wage, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.
Cuomo has already done a lot to advance the policy in the state. He unilaterally raised wages for those working in the fast-food industry, state university workers and state employees. He also introduced a bill Sept. 10 that will gradually bring the state minimum wage to $15 by 2021. Additionally De Blasio announced Jan. 6 a plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for all New York City workers.
Labor unions have been some of the most adamant about pushing the policy nationally and in the state. The Service Employees International Union Local 1199 launched media marketing campaigns in support of the statewide increase. The union-backed Fight for $15 movement has been at the forefront of the nationwide fight.
Critics are concerned the increase will cause tremendous economic stress and limiting job opportunities. Many businesses may not have the profits to handle such an increase. They would be left with few options to offset the added cost of labor beyond hiring less workers. The statewide increase will still need the support from at least some Republicans in the New York Senate but party leadership have said they are not ruling it out.
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