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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

NH Minimum Wage Called 'Out of Step' with Rest of New England, U.S.

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Monday, January 9, 2023   

Despite minimum-wage increases throughout New England in the new year, New Hampshire continues to match the federal rate of $7.25 an hour, forcing many businesses to raise wages themselves in an effort to retain workers.

Tipped workers continue to make just $3.27 per hour, and continue to leave their jobs at the greatest rate.

Saru Jayaraman, president of the group One Fair Wage, said with 23 states and Washington, D.C. increasing wages in 2023, New Hampshire remains "out of step" with nationwide trends. She argued the skill and labor of tipped workers especially is undervalued, and is reflected in their pay.

"Anybody who works in America should be able to make enough to feed your children and have a roof over your head," Jayaraman asserted. "That should be a basic regardless of your judgment of the job."

A 2021 state analysis of the potential economic impacts of increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 over a number of years found workers in the lowest wage categories would see the largest wage increases but also experience the greatest number of job losses. The National Restaurant Association said a dramatic rise in labor costs could force restaurant owners to raise menu prices, cut back on employees' hours, or eliminate positions.

The sub-minimum wage for tipped workers disproportionately affects women and workers of color in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, workers earning less than $15 an hour comprise 63% of all workers receiving food stamp benefits in the state.

Jayaraman pointed out across the U.S., the restaurant industry alone costs taxpayers $16 billion dollars annually.

"Taxpayers are subsidizing often multibillion-dollar corporations by paying essentially for their workers' survival," Jayaraman contended. "Because they are refusing to keep the social contract and pay their workers what they are actually worth."

Analysis shows a single adult with just one child needs more than $32 an hour to cover basic living costs in the Granite State.

Jayaraman stressed until minimum-wage policy changes, workers will not trust any employer-made wage increases will last, and they will not return to the service industry.

Legislation to incrementally increase the federal minimum wage to $15 was added to a 2021 COVID-19 relief package but ultimately rejected. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., voted against the measure, stating it should be voted upon as a stand-alone bill.


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