$30 and a dream: Why pols, unions think a massive NYC minimum wage boost is ‘fair share’ solution to inflation
The minimum wage in NYCincreased to $17 an hour in January, but local politicians and workers said Tuesday it’s not nearly enough to combat inflation and the high cost of living in the Big Apple.
Several progressive NYC Council Members, labor leaders, and community activists gathered outside City Hall on Tuesday, demanding an unprecedented wage increase to $30 per hour by 2030 — something the lawmakers said is achievable through legislation.
Brooklyn City Council Member Sandy Nurse said her new bill, known as “30 for Our City,” will help fix the city’s affordability crisis.
“The math ain’t mathing,” she said. “The wages aren’t adding up. The wages are too low, and the cost of living is too high.”
Over a million workers in NYC who earn the minimum wage would benefit from the increase.
“$17 per hour is not a livable wage. It is a crisis,” Nurse said, highlighting the daily choices many New Yorkers have to make between food, transportation or rent. “This is not a dignified life.”
