Tompkins County Democratic Committee Endorses $14.34/Hour Minimum Wage in Tompkins

(ITHACA) In a near unanimous vote more than 70 members of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee present at the quarterly Committee meeting on Monday night called on the Tompkins County Legislature to pass a local law seeking to establish the Living Wage ($14.34) as the statutory minimum wage in the County.  The Resolution called for a 4-year phase-in of the increase from the current minimum wage of $8.75.

In speaking for the Resolution, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick said: “It is time for a $15 minimum wage. If you work full-time you SHOULD NOT be living in poverty.”

The Resolution was introduced by Town of Ithaca Supervisor Herb Engman who was recently successful in encouraging the Town of Ithaca Board to unanimously approve of a similarly worded Resolution. “This is an important step forward,” said TC Workers’ Center Coordinator Pete Meyers, “too many workers in the County struggle daily to make ends meet on wages that are far less than a Living Wage in a County that is in many other ways thriving.”