A bill that would raise the statewide minimum wage to $10 an hour failed in the House Labor Committee on a 9-5 vote. The bill’s author, Alexandria Representative Ed Larvadain, says citizens making between $7.25 an hour and ten-bucks an hour are struggling to survive and lawmakers must step up.
“Louisiana has about 500,000 residents working age 16 to 64 living below the poverty level. The second highest in the nation, that is unacceptable,” said Larvadain.
NFIB State Director Dawn McVea says Louisiana small businesses oppose this legislation.
“Ninety-two percent of our small business owners oppose this legislation. If passed 67% would have to leave positions unfilled, 60% would have to reduce employee hours and 58% would reduce the number of employees,” said McVea.
President of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry Jim Patterson says there are very few non-government workers making less than $10 an hour.
“Individuals are not making the minimum wage in the private sector based on what I heard in the testimony that led off here. There’s a problem in government but not in the private sector, so I suggest to you the legislation is not necessary,” said Patterson.
The last federal wage increase was in 2009. Thirty out of fifty states have a minimum wage greater than the federal minimum wage. Arkansas raised its minimum wage to eleven dollars an hour this year. Larvadain says the lack of a higher minimum wage is contributing to the state’s outmigration problem.
“We educate our young people, but they leave for better and higher paying jobs in other locations,” said Larvadain.
The minimum wage will continue at $7.25 an hour. During Governor John Bel Edwards’ two terms in office, he’s pushed the Louisiana Legislature to raise the minimum wage, but in his seven-plus years in office, the proposal has been rejected by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Story by Teiko Foxx and Jeff Palermo
Comments