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Two Dozen Business Leaders To Storm Capitol Hill For Minimum Wage Increase

Two Dozen Business Leaders To Storm Capitol Hill For Minimum Wage Increase
By 

Associate Politics Editor, The Huffington Post

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Two dozen of the nation’s top business leaders will gather on Capitol Hill on Wednesday and Thursday to rally support behind the Fair Minimum Wage Act, an effort to raise the federal minimum wage to at least $10.10 per hour over the next two years, the Agenda Project, a nonprofit progressive group, announced Tuesday.

In anticipation of an upcoming Senate vote on the measure, conservative and liberal business leaders in the Smart Capitalists for American Prosperity and Business for a Fair Minimum Wage will meet with more than a dozen senior White House officials and Capitol Hill leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), to garner support for the House Democrats' version of the bill.

The groups will also meet with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) to devise a strategy to get the bill through the GOP-controlled House.

Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and a member of Smart Capitalists, has served as a vocal advocate for minimum wage reform, even accusing corporations that pay "poverty wages" of criminal behavior.

“There is only so much Chunky Monkey one rich guy can eat. For Ben & Jerry’s to succeed, we need more than one ice cream buying rich guy,” Cohen said in Tuesday’s press release. “Raise the minimum wage and everyone can have a scoop.”

Former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, also a Smart Capitalists member, added that a fair minimum wage “will ensure dignity for our people and our families.”

In February, President Barack Obama issued an executive order to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for a few hundred thousand federal contractors before advising Congress to follow suit.

"Raising the minimum wage is good for business, it's good for workers and it's good for the economy," Obama said at the time.

Later that month, House Democrats launched a discharge petition to force a vote on the minimum wage issue, but they were unable to secure the 218 votes needed.

While most congressional Republicans oppose a higher minimum wage, a February HuffPost/YouGov poll found that a majority of Americans, 62 percent, support raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour.

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Before You Go

What Minimum Wage Haters Won't Say
Most Americans Support Raising The Minimum Wage(01 of10)
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Seventy-three percent of Americans support raising the minimum wage to $10 per hour and indexing it to inflation, according to a recent poll. (credit:AP)
Raising The Minimum Wage Would Boost The Economy(02 of10)
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Low-wage workers spend more when the minimum wage is raised, according to a 2011 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. This spending in turn boosts the economy and job growth, according to the Economic Policy Institute. (credit:AP)
Raising The Minimum Wage Does Not Hurt Employment(03 of10)
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A number ofstudies have found that raising the minimum wage does not reduce total employment by a meaningful amount. (credit:AP)
Having A Minimum Wage Has Kept More Teens In School(04 of10)
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The minimum wage has kept teens in high school longer by reducing the number of low-wage jobs available to them, according to one study. (credit:AP)
Prices Don't Always Rise In Response To Minimum Wage Increases(05 of10)
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Though Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) recently warned that raising the minimum wage would be "inflationary," prices apparently don't rise in response to minimum wage hikes. For example, fast food restaurants in Texas did not raise prices in response to federal minimum wage increases in 1990 and 1991, according to one study. (credit:Getty Images)
Letting The Minimum Wage Fall Could Increase Income Inequality(06 of10)
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The erosion of the minimum wage -- that is, the decline of its purchasing power as prices rise -- contributed to income inequality among poorer Americans in the 1980s, according to one study. (credit:Getty Images)
Worker Benefits Don't Get Cut In Response To Minimum Wage Increases(07 of10)
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Minimum wage increases did not lead to reduced worker benefits, according to two studies. (credit:Shutterstock)
Raising The Minimum Wage Does Not Shorten Workdays(08 of10)
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In New Jersey, employers did not cut their workers' hours in response to the state's 1992 minimum wage hike, according to one study. (credit:Getty Images)
Most Minimum-Wage Workers Are Adults(09 of10)
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Contrary to popular belief, 84 percent of minimum-wage workers are age 20 or older, according to the Economic Policy Institute. (credit:AP)
A Falling Minimum Wage Contributes To Obesity(10 of10)
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The erosion of the minimum wage has contributed to growth in U.S. obesity by making fast food cheaper and more popular, according to one study. Meanwhile, healthy food has become more expensive. (credit:Getty Images)
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