Push in states for $20 minimum wage as inflation persists

By MAYSOON KHAN
Associated Press/Report for America

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Just years after labor activists persuaded a handful of states to raise their minimum wage to $15 per hour, workers initially thrilled with the pay bump are finding their hard-won gains erased by inflation. New York, California, and Massachusetts are among states where legislation has been filed to boost minimum wages to $20 or more. But opponents to hikes in wages say it can be detrimental to small businesses who already operate on thin margins. Barry Nicholson, a businessowner in Corning, a city by the Finger Lakes in New York, said a big wage increase would be “a smack in the face to small businesses.”