The Montgomery County Council Is Considering A $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage. That So Many Businesses Are Opposing It is Shameful.

Last Tuesday evening after work I went up to the Montgomery County Council in Rockville at the invitation of Jews for Justice to watch a public hearing on the minimum wage. I have done this once before in Portland, Oregon, when I went to the state legislature for a hearing on a similar bill. That bill failed, but this one has a significantly better chance of success.

In Montgomery County, the current minimum wage is $9.55 an hour. Under the current law, it is scheduled to go up to $10.75 per hour on October 1st, 2016 and $11.50 an hour on October 1st, 2017. That is not very much, to say the least. The Washington D.C. metropolitan area is an expensive place to live; Montgomery County is not quite as expensive but still pricey. $11.50 an hour is about $23,000 a year and has to cover rent, food, clothes, transportation, health insurance, and all other expenses. This proposed bill, Bill 12–16, would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, which would still be only $30,000 a year, but it would adjust it for inflation.

Laura Wallace from Jews United for Justice testified on behalf of our group, and the rest of us sat in support. The room was very crowded; almost a hundred people had come to testify or show their support (or opposition). Union, nonprofits, and low-wage workers came to support the bill, and businesses lined up in opposition. The Silver Spring, Bethesda, and Rockville Chambers of Commerce all spoke against the bill.

In her testimony, Laura talked about the portion of the Torah in Numbers where it says, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and grant you peace.” Jewish values, she said, require living wages for all and meeting everyone’s physical needs. Minimum wage workers should be able to make ends meet, and the bill should include tipped workers (YES!). Michael Rubin (a board member of Jews United for Justice) also spoke in favor, and said, “You shall open your hand to the needy.”

Other groups that supported the minimum wage increase were SEIU Local 32BJ, Casa de Maryland, and the Episcopal Church. Some union members mentioned that according to the Economic Policy Institute, in Montgomery County you need an income of $79,000 to raise a family. Low wages also cost the government, because workers have to go on welfare and food stamps. If wages are increased, most of these workers will spend the vast majority of their money, helping local businesses and stimulating the economy. Additionally, many businesses support a $15 an hour minimum wage. This is the morally right thing to do, and it will help combat income inequality. Additionally, this bill will help minimum wage workers but also other workers, because it will indirectly cause all wages to rise.

One young woman in Silver Spring spoke about how difficult it was working for $4 an hour plus tips, and often she could barely pay rent. Very courageous of her; the minimum wage should apply to everyone. And how does she do it? I make a good salary and yet I live outside of downtown Silver Spring — I can’t imagine living in Silver Spring on $10 an hour, which must be nerve racking.

Ana Martinez, a domestic workers organizer for CASA, testified that it was a moral imperative to help those in poverty and ensure that workers earn a living wage. Martin Luther King Jr. supported a living wage, and the 1963 March on Washington was titled the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Franklin Roosevelt stated that “no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to it workers has any right to continue in this country.”

The businesses and people opposing the measure made various claims. The Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce said that the bill would mean higher prices for consumers and job losses, since businesses would fire or not hire workers, and so this measure would hurt the very people it was supposed to help. Other businesses claimed that the increase was an example of government overreach, and that they were already struggling with having to provider paid sick leave (which most of them opposed). Giant Foods opposed the minimum wage increase; the man testifying claimed that with benefits, the minimum wage would effectively require them to pay $23 an hour. (I am also certain that is a lie, or at least not the whole truth). There is a Giant near my house that I have occasionally been to — how much are the employees paid? Not much, I would expect, if Giant’s behavior at this hearing is any indication. I should not shop there anymore, but the problem is that the other grocery stores near my house — Safeway and Whole Foods — aren’t much, if at all better.

A disappointing note: I recognized one of the businesses testifying against the minimum wage increase. In fact, I was at it very recently! Denizens Brewing Company is a restaurant in Silver Spring not very far from the Metro. I met up there with a couple of fellow Reed alumni and enjoyed the foods and drinks, and it seemed like a nice place. Looks can be deceiving. The witness for Denizens Brewing Company claimed that they love their employees, pay them far above minimum wage, and give them generous benefits. But if that is the case, then why are they testifying against the minimum wage increase? A higher wage attracts better employees, and makes them more motivated and happier to do their jobs. And if Denizens Brewing Company can happily pay their workers well, what reason do they have to oppose a $15 an hour wage?

All in all, it was a very good experience, and I am hopeful that the $15 an hour minimum wage bill will pass and help Montgomery County workers. But the record of Montgomery County business (or at least, the Chamber of Commerce, which to be fair is not always the same thing) was shameful. I remember Theodore Roosevelt talking in his autobiography, written over a hundred years ago, about how reactionary business owners opposed the ending of child labor, minimum wage and workplace safety laws, food inspection laws, financial regulations, and other benefits. Some things haven’t changed.

At a time when too many state and local governments are trying to cut programs and punish those in poverty, it’s good to see the Montgomery County Council actively considering ways to help them.