Employers worried about the near certain passage of the minimum wage initiative at the November election, can take heart that Nevada will retain its competitive edge with the Golden State. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and leaders in the Legislature have struck a deal that will raise that state’s minimum wage to $8 an hour, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The deal will be implemented in two stages by January 2008. Of course, there wasn’t that much to worry about. The initiative will keep the minimum wage in Nevada one dollar above the federal rate, which would make it $6.15. The minimum wage in California is already $6.75.
Making a virtue of necessity, Schwarzenegger said the hike was a sign that the state’s economy was reviving. Of course, it won’t hurt him either with moderates voters whom he’ll have to win over to retain the reins in Sacramento.
The AFL-CIO was fully aware of the political dimensions. “It’s a long time coming, and frankly the reason it’s coming is because this is a political year,” Art Pulaski, secretary-treasurer of the labor federation, told the paper.
The restaurant industry was disappointed and had hoped that tipped employees would be kept out of the deal with a separate waiter’s minimum wage.
The governator insisted that the minimum wage not be indexed to retain some credibility with the business community. His opponent in the November election, Democrat Phil Angelides has promised to sign a bill that indexes the state’s minimum wage. All in all, I bet they’re clapping their hands over at the Nevada Development Authority, where they’re probably already crafting a campaign with the slogan: “You call that a MINIMUM wage???”
