Today the Minnesota House passed legislation that Republicans called a “jobs bill.” Looking closer at the legislation, it’s clear that it will hurt working Minnesotans.
“From lowering and freezing the minimum wage for restaurant servers to slashing investment in proven job creation strategies, this legislation does far more harm than good for working families,” said Minnesota AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Steve Hunter. “At a time when Minnesotans are finally getting back to work and wages are beginning to increase, House Republicans seem hell bent on stopping working families from getting ahead.”
Some provisions that will hurt working families include:
- Tip penalty wage of $8.00/hour for any worker who averages at least $4.00/hour in tips. Unlike the state minimum wage, which will rise to $9.50 by 2016 followed by annual cost of living increases, the tip penalty wage would be frozen at $8.00/hour
- Preventing any local unit of government from setting a higher minimum wage or guaranteeing other workplace protections
- Cutting $11 million from the Minnesota Job Creation and Investment Funds
- 50% cut to dislocated worker services
- Deregulation of telecom and energy laws that will likely increase service costs to residents in Greater Minnesota
- Repealing Minnesota’s bi-partisan renewable energy standard
“Despite a $2 billion surplus, House Republicans are targeting working families in nearly every bill to pay for their massive corporate tax cut,” added Hunter. “Working people are counting on Governor Dayton and the Senate to stop these dangerous proposals from becoming law.”