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It would help 139,000 workers
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RALEIGH

N.C. House legislators gave their final approval yesterday to a $1-an-hour increase in the minimum wage to $6.15, boosting confidence for advocates that a raise will soon come to more than 100,000 North Carolina workers.

Last week, the Senate passed the $1 raise as part of its budget. Gov. Mike Easley, who originally proposed an 85-cent raise in his budget, has since backed the $1 proposal. The House affirmed the bill with a 72-43 margin.

"It’s all about lifting up North Carolina’s working poor," said Rep. Alma Adams, D-Guilford, the bill’s sponsor and a minimum-wage advocate who has fought for a raise for nearly 10 years.

Now the House and the Senate need to decide whether to approve the increase through a stand-alone bill or as part of the budget. Easley would have to sign any bill into law.

Over half of the nation’s states, including North Carolina, abide by the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour, which was last increased in 1997. Polls during this election year show wide support for the minimum-wage increase, and bill supporters say that it would improve pay for 139,000 workers in North Carolina. The $1 raise would put $2,000 into the pockets of minimum-wage workers each year.

"It’s good for the economy," said Rep. Jean Farmer-Butterfield, D-Wilson. "It’s good for the workers. It’s good for business, and it’s good for the state."

State Treasurer Richard Moore and former U.S. Sen. John Edwards also have lobbied the General Assembly on the issue.

But opponents say that the 19 percent increase in the minimum wage hurts small businesses and could lead to job losses.

"Increasing the minimum wage polls well, helps you win an election and gets you applause," said Rep. Bill Daughtridge, R-Nash. "But increasing the minimum wage is not the answer. It would just create a new problem." (more…)

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