by Abby Peterson, State Editor

The Madison City Council’s passage of a citywide minimum-wage hike is boosting hopes among some that the measure could pave the way for a statewide raise.

Ald. Austin King, District 8, said that Madison’s example of raising the city’s minimum wage could serve to guide the state toward a wage hike of its own. He indicated that although Madison’s hike, which raises the city’s wage to $7.75, is considerably higher than Gov. Doyle’s recommendations for the state, any statewide ordered raise would be helpful for workers in Wisconsin.

“Modest as the proposal is, it is still important,” King said. “We are 100 percent behind Gov. Doyle’s efforts to hike the wage across the state.”

The Minimum Wage Advisory Council, a task force Doyle employed to consider a state wage increase, recently voted to increase the state’s current rate of $5.15 per hour to $6.50 per hour. The council approved a two-part hike that would raise the wage across the state over the span of two years.

Some business owners claim that the City Council’s wage resolution will economically isolate Madison and should have been done in cooperation with the state rather than as a model for Wisconsin.

“It’s creating an island of [more] expensive workers,” said Tony Badame, owner of hat store Sacred Feather, 417 State St. “I think they should have done something in coordination with the state.”

King counters that those who claim the increase in the city is too large are underestimating the need for a higher living wage for Wisconsin workers.

“We are not asking too much,” he said. “Everyone else is asking for too little.”

King also argued the state should raise its own wage to match the hike in Madison.

“I think if the one thing people are really concerned about is Madison’s wage hike being too high and Madison being a [wage] island, they should raise the wage across the state,” King said, adding that those who criticize the City Council’s decision are against raising the minimum wage under any circumstances. “They don’t stand for a minimum-wage increase, they stand against it.”

King encouraged local businesses to assess their own economic situations and enact wage hikes to meet their own needs. He said this would be an especially viable option if the Republican-controlled state Legislature were to block a minimum-wage increase for the state as a whole.

Gov. Doyle recently vetoed legislation that would have outlawed a wage hike in Madison. He said there is no reason to outlaw higher living wages among localities if the state has not enacted its own wage hike.

“Substantial minimum-wage disparities between communities may adversely impact economic development and foster uncertainty among businesses trying to plan investments and create jobs,” Doyle said in his veto message about the bill. “However, with a minimum wage of $5.15 an hour, I can understand why localities believe that they need to raise the minimum wage.”

Doyle also cited party differences in vetoing the bill.

“Until Republicans in the Legislature join with the consensus of business, labor and community leaders and support raising Wisconsin’s minimum wage, I see no reason to sign this bill.”