The “drive to $25” is still alive in New Jersey.
A proposed law that would increase the federal minimum wage to $25 continues to pick up supporters in Congress, including some from the Garden State.
Four Democratic House members from New Jersey have signed on as sponsors to the Living Wage for All Act: Donald Norcross (NJ-1), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Analilia Mejia (NJ-11) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12).
The bill would gradually increase the minimum wage across the nation. For larger companies, it would rise to $12 per hour in 2026, then continue rising until it hits $25 per hour in 2031. Smaller companies would get more time to adjust, with the $25 per hour rate not kicking in until 2038.
To ensure wages do not fall behind again, the bill includes a built-in standard that keeps the minimum wage aligned with typical wages across the economy. The legislation also eliminates all subminimum wages, including for tipped workers, youth workers and workers with disabilities.
The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce for further review.
If it crosses the finish line, the Living Wage for All Act would mean that some states have catching up to do – including New Jersey, where the state minimum wage increased to $15.92 per hour this year for most employees.
The push to hike the minimum wage is catching flak from critics, who claim it would increase unemployment, add to inflation, potentially “crush small businesses” and pass on the cost of doing business to customers.
On the flip side of the coin, supporters argue that an update to the federal minimum wage – which has remained at $7.25 per hour since 2009 – is long overdue.
Advocates point to worsening economic struggles for working-class families, in addition to widening wealth gaps and record-high corporate profits. They include Mejia, the Garden State’s newest Congress member.
Mejia, a longtime community organizer who recently replaced Gov. Mikie Sherrill in Congress, made the Living Wage for All Act her first major piece of legislation since taking office in April.
“No one working full time should be struggling to survive,” Mejia urged at a press conference last week alongside Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois, another primary sponsor of the bill (watch video footage here, or view it below).
“Housing, gas and grocery costs have all surged, yet the federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised since 2009,” said Mejia, who campaigned heavily on progressive issues.
“Americans deserve an economy that works for all, not just the billionaire class,” Mejia added.
Watson Coleman also threw her support behind the Living Wage For All Act.
“Adults entering the labor market are confronting a minimum wage that is the same as it was when they were in diapers,” she said.
“Whether you’re Black, White, Hispanic or Asian… an urban service worker, a suburban waiter or a rural factory worker… what unites every American is the belief that if you work hard, you should be able to support yourself and your family,” Watson Coleman said.
“For decades, a handful of billionaires and their well-funded corporate lobbyists have stood in the way of the American Dream for millions,” the congresswoman continued. “But by coming together, we can build that floor beneath no family will fall, build an economy that works for working people, and give everyone a real shot at a better life for themselves and their families.”
Other co-sponsors of the bill from New Jersey include Norcross, who tried to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 in 2019, and McIver, who recently supported a bill to hike it to $17.
As of Thursday, the bill's supporters are all Democrats. No Republican members of Congress have signed as co-sponsors.
CRITICISM
Opponents of raising the minimum wage include former Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway, who recently ran against Mejia as a Republican for Sherrill’s former congressional seat.
“A $25 federal minimum wage would crush small businesses and raise costs on working families,” Hathaway commented, decrying the idea as a “socialist policy.”
“Look, I think everyone agrees on one thing: people are struggling right now,” he said. “Costs are up. Families are feeling it. And we need real solutions that help working people get ahead.”
“But raising the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour, that’s not a solution – that’s a shock to the system,” Hathaway insisted. “And New Jersey small business owners already know what happens when politicians force unrealistic mandates.”
The New Jersey Libertarian Party said the Living Wage for All Act is “woefully blind to the economics behind affordability.”
“Large increases to minimum wage – whether implemented immediately or gradually – increase inflation, worsens unemployment, encourages automation, and makes it all the more difficult for small businesses to operate,” party chair Bruno Pereira wrote earlier this week.
As the cost of hiring employees grows, companies will downsize their staff and pass additional costs onto the consumer, Pereira said.
“Workers might applaud this bill’s passage now, but when their jobs are phased out and the costs of their needed goods and services grow even more unaffordable, they will realize that once again, the government has made their situation worse,” Pereira added.
SUPPORT FROM ADVOCATES
The bill has seen support from advocacy groups including the NAACP; American Federation of Teachers; National Education Association; Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; Center for Popular Democracy; PolicyLink; One Fair Wage; SEIU International; Our Revolution; Alliance for a Just Society; Patriotic Millionaires; National Urban League; New Disabled South; Keystone Progress Education Fund; Voices for Progress; Chicago Education Advocacy Cooperative; Trabajadores Unidos Workers United; and National Organization for Women.
“This is what it looks like when politics begins to catch up to reality – and when democracy delivers real improvements in people’s lives, it becomes tangible,” said Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage.
According to Ritchie Tabachnick, a member of Patriotic Millionaires – a group of wealthy Americans who advocate for an “equitable economy” – smart businesspeople know that an economy based on consumer demand requires customers with money to spend.
“Unfortunately for everyone – including many rich people like us – it’s the opportunists and self-dealers, not the smart businesspeople, who are in the driver's seat,” Tabachnick added.
AFFORDABILITY IN NEW JERSEY
The cost of living continues to rise in New Jersey. According to an annual study from SmartAsset, the Garden State ranks second in the nation for the highest income a household can earn and still be considered middle-class: $208,588. Meanwhile, it takes $69,529 to cross the lower threshold into middle class in New Jersey.
Data from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center reports New Jersey has a cost-of-living index of 115.3, ranking it among the five most expensive states in the country. Only a handful of states rank higher: Massachusetts, New York and California sit near the top, while Hawaii leads the nation at 183.9.
Federal data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows average personal consumption expenditures in New Jersey reach about $63,814 per person annually.
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