Minneapolis to Hold Listening Sessions on Minimum Wage

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — City officials are hosting several listening sessions in coming weeks to gather feedback on a potential minimum wage policy for employers in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis City Council has directed staff to present minimum wage policy recommendations mid-year after doing additional research and community engagement on the topic.

The listening sessions will be an opportunity for community stakeholders to share viewpoints on how a change in the minimum wage would impact them, according to a news release.

Upcoming meetings include:

• Tuesday, Jan. 24: Latino community, 6­­­-7:30 p.m. Mercado Central, second floor, 1515 E. Lake St.
• Wednesday, Jan. 25: Minneapolis Business Advisory Group, 2:30­-3:30 p.m. location TBD
• Thursday, Jan. 26: East African community, 6­-7:30 p.m. Brian Coyle Center, 420 15th Ave. S.
• Monday, Jan. 30: East Town Business Partnership, 3-4:30 p.m. Location TBD
• Tuesday, Feb. 7: Native American community, 5:30-7 p.m. All My Relations Gallery (Powwow Grounds), 1414 E. Franklin Ave.
• Tuesday, Feb. 14: Minneapolis Downtown Council and Northeast Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, 4-5:30 p.m. DID conference rooms (TBD)
• Wednesday, Feb. 15: African American community, 3-5 p.m. NEON, 1007 W. Broadway Ave.
• Tuesday, Feb. 21: general public, 6-7:30 p.m. Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th St.
• Thursday, Feb. 23: general public, 6-7:30 p.m. Urban League, main gathering room, 2100 Plymouth.

The community engagement plan follows a presentation by a research team presenting highlights of a study analyzing the relative impact of a local minimum wage increase in Minneapolis and the region.

The study, led by the University of Minnesota’s Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Justice, examined the impact of increasing the wage to $12 and $15 per hour phased in over five years.

Minimum Wage Study

The study found that people of color would disproportionally benefit from a wage increase:

• Of Latino workers, 39 percent would benefit from an increase to $12/hour and 54 percent would benefit from an increase to $15/hour.
• Of black workers, 27 percent would benefit from an increase to $12/hour and 41 percent would benefit from an increase to $15/hour.
• Of white workers, 10 percent would benefit from an increase to $12/hour and 17 percent would benefit from an increase to $15/hour.

After applying the local workforce demographics to the available economic forecast models, the study did not find significant projected job growth losses due to the proposed minimum wage increases, either in Minneapolis, or in Hennepin and Ramsey County, according to city officials.

The models either showed a slight decrease in employment, or no statistically significant change. The difference in estimations for the effect of a minimum wage is largely due to the fact that each model makes different assumptions on the best way to test for these effects.

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