The N.C. House voted 72-43 this afternoon to approve a $1 increase in the state’s minimum wage.
That vote confirmed last week’s initial vote on the issue. The House plan would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $6.15.
Majority Leader Joe Hackney, D-Orange, called the minimum wage bill an effort to help North Carolina’s working poor.
I think it’s entirely appropriate that every now and then we take that as our focus, and this bill appropriately focuses us in that direction. … We have basic minimum standards.
Rep. Alma Adams, D-Guilford, also made the case for the increase.
I don’t believe that we should take the attitude that we should not help people because they’re poor. … We’re talking about people who work and people who want to work. We’re not talking about people who are shiftless and lazy, but people who want to work and support their families. And they deserve that right.
Supporters ignored the arguments from critics who say a minimum wage increase will drive the poorest workers out of the labor market. Rep. Curtis Blackwood, R-Union:
What you’re going to do is put a lot of people out of work. North Carolina — for our area — has the highest income tax. North Carolina has the highest tax rate in the Southeast. … And if you pass this, we’ll probably have the highest labor costs of anybody around here.
Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake, also opposed the minimum wage hike.
Is there anyone here who thinks there’s not one person in North Carolina whose labor and productivity is worth $5.75 an hour? … If there’s such a single person, that person’s going to lose his or her job because of this bill.
The House defeated a motion that would have allowed an amendment designed to help small businesses cope with increased labor costs. The amendment would have restored an old tax credit targeting businesses with a high proportion of minimum-wage jobs.
The House bill now heads to the Senate, which tucked a similar minimum wage increase into its budget plan.
