05 April 2006
04.05.06 WV: Manchin Signs Minimum Wage Hike
Gov. Joe Manchin on Tuesday signed into law an increase in the state’s minimum wage, which will rise to $7.25 an hour within two years.
04.05.06 TN: Senate Panel Votes to Up Minimum Wage
Two Republican state senators broke ranks with their party by not voting against raising the minimum wage Tuesday, allowing the Democratic-backed proposal to proceed. While the debate on raising the minimum wage from the federally mandated $5.15 an hou
03 April 2006
04.03.06 AR: Minimum Wage Hike Approved By Committee
A committee of the Arkansas state Senate has endorsed a bill to raise the minimum wage in Arkansas from $5.15 per hour to $6.25 per hour. The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee endorsed the bill Monday on a voice vote. The bill must still b
04.01.06 MD/NY: Super Stores Challenge Fair Share in Court
Large retailers have come out swinging against the state legislation requiring employers to spend a minimum on health care insurance for workers or pay penalties to the state, saying they will take their challenge to the Supreme Court if necessary. The Re
04.02.06 AR: Session call includes anti-smoking bill, minimum wage hike
The issues are among the 31 items that Gov. Mike Huckabee listed in the special session call he issued Friday. The smoking ban is the governor's proposal. Lawmakers, a coalition of community and church groups and the state's business community agreed on a
04.03.06 Study: Minimum-wage hikes boost retail employment -- Newsday.com
A new study has ratcheted up the debate over whether minimum-wage hikes cause job losses in New York State. According to the Fiscal Policy Institute, a research group in Albany, the state's minimum-wage increases have helped small businesses, not hur
04.01.06 CA: Minimum Wage Hearings Not Doing Much For Gov.
Sacramento, CA – When it comes to raising the minimum wage, it seems like no one can agree. The California Labor Federation is sponsoring bills in the Assembly and Senate to boost the $6.75 minimum wage by $1 and make future increases automatic with the
31 March 2006
Petition calls for vote on raising state's minimum wage
OKLAHOMA CITY An initiative petition calling for a statewide vote on raising the state's minimum wage has been filed with the secretary of state. The petition by the group Raise Oklahoma calls for raising the minimum wage in Oklahoma from the federal mini
30 March 2006
03.30.06 MA: Minimum-wage increase supporters are hopeful
Attorney General Thomas Reilly last Wednesday joined the chorus of workers, unions and lawmakers calling for the state to adopt the highest minimum wage in the nation. Speaking to more than 100 workers and supporters of the proposal to increase the w
03.30.06 CA: Minimum wage hike stalls / Governor's plan dies, and he says he'll veto Democrats' plan
Sacramento -- A key piece of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election year agenda suffered a setback Wednesday as his bid to raise the minimum wage by $1 failed in its first legislative hearing. Senate Democrats instead approved a broader proposal that
29 March 2006
03.28.06 MN: Senate division gives OK To 'Wal-Mart bill'
A bill that would require large Minnesota employers to supply health insurance for workers or pay the state a share of the cost got closer to a Senate floor vote on Tuesday. The Senate Health and Human Services Division approved the bill 5 to 2. It has be
03.27.06 PA: Pa. proposal targets Wal-Mart
Unions and big business are expected to battle over whether the state can tell large employers how much money they should spend on health care insurance for their workers. A so-called "fair-share health care bill" is expected to be introduced in the state
03.27.06 AR: Legislators to Consider Minimum Wage Increase in Arkansas
Little Rock - A compromise has been reached regarding Arkansas' minimum wage. Instead of sending the issue to the voters, legislators will consider a minimum wage increase during a special session. A group known as "Give Arkansas A Raise Now" has been try
03.28.06 AR: Solons get behind plan to increase minimum wage
If Gov. Mike Huckabee gets a special legislative session rolling by April 3, lawmakers may head off a constitutional amendment to raise Arkansas' minimum wage by increasing it themselves. A compromise minimum wage plan could be included on the agenda for
03.29.06 ME: Approval for Minimum Wage Increase Pending
A bill to raise the current minimum wage of $6.50 to $6.75 this October and then to $7 in October of 2007 appears to be on its way to final approval after the Senate this week rejected an amendment to add a training wage to the proposal. The amendment, pr
03.29.06 MI: Granholm signs the minimum wage hike
Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a higher minimum wage law Tuesday, calling it a victory for workers and a boost to Michigan's economy. The current minimum wage of $5.15 an hour rises to $6.95 on Oct. 1. The hourly base goes to $7.15 in July 2007 and $7.40 i
27 March 2006
03.24.06 OH: Minimum-Wage Raise Touted
Boosting the state minimum wage to $6.85 an hour — a proposal likely to appear on the November statewide ballot — would result in raises for 1 in 7 Ohio workers, according to a new study. An estimated 720,000 workers, 58 percent of them women, would b
03.27.06 CA: Minimum Wage Bills Face Challenge In Sacramento
(AP) SACRAMENTO Three bills to raise the minimum wage - one backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and two by Democrats - face tests this week in the California Legislature. All three measures would boost the hourly minimum wage by $1 to $7.75, making it on
03.26.06 AR: Arkansas' minimum wage scenarios
A proposed constitutional amendment to raise the minimum wage in Arkansas from $5.15 per hour to $6.15 per hour is being considered on a call for a special legislative session. A proposed amendment in Arkansas would require an annual automatic increase or
03.27.06 National: DEMOCRATIC LEADERS PRESS REPUBLICANS TO PASS MIN. WAGE INCREASE AFTER BUSH OFFICIALS SIGNAL OPENNESS
“Two Bush Cabinet officials have indicated that the administration would finally be open to an increase in the national minimum wage, stuck at $5.15 per hour for the past 7 years. This is unexpected, but welcome, news from an administration that has rep
03.24.06 MI: Democrats, labor drop minimum wage petition drive
Sponsors are pulling the plug on a petition drive to raise Michigan’s minimum wage, as Gov. Jennifer Granholm prepares to sign into law Tuesday an even higher minimum wage than the campaign sought. A campaign to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour
23 March 2006
03.23.06 ME: 'Wal-Mart bill' tamed in Augusta
AUGUSTA — The so-called "Wal-Mart bill," which proponents hoped would lead to a tax on big-box retailers that don't offer health insurance to their employees, has been considerably tamed. The amended bill now takes the form of a request for data from th
03.23.06 FL: Mayor Wants To Override Minimum Wage For Miami Workers
MIAMI -- At a meeting of the Miami City Commission Thursday, Mayor Manny Diaz presented an ordinance that could increase the pay of some of the city's most poorly compensated workers. If the ordinance passes, the city of Miami and private firms that act a
03.23.06 ID: House committee kills minimum wage bill
BOISE, IDAHO -- A push to increase Idaho's minimum wage by a dollar is dead. The House State Affairs Committee voted 12-to-five against the plan to raise the minimum wage to $6.15 an hour from $5.15.
