MADISON - Sen. Jon Erpenbach, Middleton, says there's a need for a higher minimum wage in Wisconsin.
A bill before the Senate today would increase the state's minimum wage from $6.50 to $7.25 an hour. The wage also would increase each year based on inflation.
Erpenbach, who co-sponsored the bill, said the increase would benefit about 250,000 workers, the vast majority of them adults.
"Adults make up about 70 percent of the workforce," he said. "You have heads of households working for minimum wage. Many of them are working two jobs at minimum wage to get by."
Erpenbach said the increase would make things a little easier for people who are working at the minimum wage.
"This isn't about giving more money to teenagers," Erpenbach said.
Rep. Steve Hilgenberg, D-Mineral Point, who owned a small business, said wages need to be looked at the same way as businesses look at materials. It's a necessary business expense, he said.
"As a small business owner, I felt obligated to try to increase the wages of my employees," he said. "I think $6.50 is too little for someone to make a living on."
Hilgenberg said that an increase in the minimum wage would enable people to put more money back into the economy.
But Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, sees the issue differently.
"I had a Monroe business tell me that if the minimum wage increases they would have a hard time keeping their doors open," he said. "It (an increase) would put a lot of pressure on small business."
Most businesses in Green County are small businesses that already pay wages higher than the minimum wage, Davis added.
Davis said the proposal has to make its way through the Senate before it will come up in the Assembly.
Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center was not available for comment this morning.
The proposal faces a tough fight before becoming law.
Republicans who control the state Assembly have traditionally opposed minimum wage hikes and leaders have not been calling for this bill's passage. And powerful interests, including the state's largest business group, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, are against it.
Twenty-three other states have minimum wages higher than Wisconsin, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Of those, 10 allow for increases based on inflation.
Given that, it makes sense for Wisconsin to act now to help keep people out of poverty, said the bill's sponsor Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Schofield.
A variety of labor unions, including the state teachers' union and the AFL-CIO, support the measure.
"Almost everything else in our economy increases in cost from one year to the next," said David Newby, president of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO. "If people are simply going to be able to survive, they've got to at least be able to keep up with that cost of that increase."
Opponents say the government shouldn't force businesses to pay a certain wage, and the minimum wage doesn't help the poor as much as advocates claim.
Automatically increasing the minimum wage would reduce job growth and job opportunities, result in fewer entry-level positions and put inflationary pressure on the economy, said Bill Smith, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, which represents about 12,000 small businesses in Wisconsin.
A bill before the Senate today would increase the state's minimum wage from $6.50 to $7.25 an hour. The wage also would increase each year based on inflation.
Erpenbach, who co-sponsored the bill, said the increase would benefit about 250,000 workers, the vast majority of them adults.
"Adults make up about 70 percent of the workforce," he said. "You have heads of households working for minimum wage. Many of them are working two jobs at minimum wage to get by."
Erpenbach said the increase would make things a little easier for people who are working at the minimum wage.
"This isn't about giving more money to teenagers," Erpenbach said.
Rep. Steve Hilgenberg, D-Mineral Point, who owned a small business, said wages need to be looked at the same way as businesses look at materials. It's a necessary business expense, he said.
"As a small business owner, I felt obligated to try to increase the wages of my employees," he said. "I think $6.50 is too little for someone to make a living on."
Hilgenberg said that an increase in the minimum wage would enable people to put more money back into the economy.
But Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, sees the issue differently.
"I had a Monroe business tell me that if the minimum wage increases they would have a hard time keeping their doors open," he said. "It (an increase) would put a lot of pressure on small business."
Most businesses in Green County are small businesses that already pay wages higher than the minimum wage, Davis added.
Davis said the proposal has to make its way through the Senate before it will come up in the Assembly.
Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center was not available for comment this morning.
The proposal faces a tough fight before becoming law.
Republicans who control the state Assembly have traditionally opposed minimum wage hikes and leaders have not been calling for this bill's passage. And powerful interests, including the state's largest business group, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, are against it.
Twenty-three other states have minimum wages higher than Wisconsin, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Of those, 10 allow for increases based on inflation.
Given that, it makes sense for Wisconsin to act now to help keep people out of poverty, said the bill's sponsor Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Schofield.
A variety of labor unions, including the state teachers' union and the AFL-CIO, support the measure.
"Almost everything else in our economy increases in cost from one year to the next," said David Newby, president of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO. "If people are simply going to be able to survive, they've got to at least be able to keep up with that cost of that increase."
Opponents say the government shouldn't force businesses to pay a certain wage, and the minimum wage doesn't help the poor as much as advocates claim.
Automatically increasing the minimum wage would reduce job growth and job opportunities, result in fewer entry-level positions and put inflationary pressure on the economy, said Bill Smith, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, which represents about 12,000 small businesses in Wisconsin.