NEWS
City faces court battle after raising minimum wage
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by Aubre Andrus
Monday, January 17, 2005
Four days after Madison’s minimum-wage increase went into effect Jan. 1, raising the wage from $5.15 an hour to $5.70, the city’s policy was challenged in court by an association of business groups pushing for a statewide minimum-wage law.
If Madison’s minimum-wage law is not overturned, hourly wage workers can expect to earn at least $7.75 an hour in 2008, with incremental increases in the upcoming years.
The coalition, called the Main Street Coalition for Economic Growth, Inc., also hoped to temporarily suspend Madison’s minimum wage increase until the case is decided in the courts. The group wants to have a uniform statewide minimum-wage increase, claiming individual city laws regulating hourly pay is not good for the economy and a poor precedent to set. If the court decides to stop the wage increase, employers would not take the excess wages back from their employees.
However, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi declined the coalition’s injunction to stall the increased minimum wages in Madison as the lawsuit continues.
The coalition is comprised of business groups including the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, Wisconsin Grocers Association and the Dane County Tavern League.
Sara Stinski, marketing and public relations director of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, said the coalition supports an increase in minimum wage, but not at the city level.
“The lawsuit was our only option because things are stalled at the state level,” Stinski said. “We believe it’s something that needs to be set at the state level and that the state statutes reflect that.”
It was not unexpected that they did not receive the injunction they requested, she added.
Stinski said she feels setting an increased-minimum-wage law in Madison is a dangerous precedent for the state. If Milwaukee has a different minimum wage than Madison, it is not good for the economy, she added.
According to Stinski, there are a few pending proposals that would increase the minimum wage at the state level and would also include language clarifying that local municipalities cannot set their own minimum wages.
“We do believe we will genuinely win this in the long run,” Stinski said. “We just really firmly believe it should be done evenly all over the state rather than creating different islands.”
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has recently said he supported a Madison-style minimum-wage increase for Milwaukee, according to Stinski.
“We actually see this as a positive because it strengthens our case as far as the lawsuit goes and it also sends a little bit more pressure to the state legislature,” Stinski said. “This is sort of proving our point that, ‘Hey, if you guys don’t move on this, these other cities are going to go out there and take this into their own hands and you’re going to end up with a patchwork.’”
George Twigg, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s spokesperson, said the mayor would “love” to have the state agree on a minimum wage, but currently Madison’s lowest paid workers are getting left behind.
“The mayor supports the Madison minimum-wage law [instead of waiting for a statewide policy to pass],” Twigg said. “Because the minimum wage hasn’t been raised in seven years and … the state and federal government continue to fail to set a broader minimum wage, then [Cieslewicz] feels Madison should act.”
According to Eric Fleming, owner of Crave Restaurant and Lounge, the employees who need the increase, such as those who work in the kitchen, are already getting paid well above the minimum wage and will not benefit from the increase. Tipped employees, such as servers, are making more than $10 per hour and will receive an additional 20-cent raise, he added.
Fleming said he agrees if the minimum wage is increased, it should be done statewide, and although Madison’s 20-cent increase for tipped employees is small, it will add up during payroll.
Anonymous (January 18, 2005 @ 9:38am):
Honestly, does anyone REALLY believe that the neanderthal Republicans that dominate our Capitol are going to wake up tomorrow having been visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past and decide to let Doyle's wage hike go through? Seriously. Anyone?
I'm proud Madison went ahead on its own and recognized this need. It had been 7 years - and finally somebody did something about it. $5.25 an hour isn't enough for anybody to survive.
