State Sen. Lou Raptakis, D-Dist. 20 of Coventry, introduced a new legislation last week that would tie the state’s minimum wage increase to the Consumer Price Index, making Rhode Island minimum wage one of the highest in the country.
Raptakis called the proposal “more realistic” as it would offer something to both business and labor. He said labor would enjoy the benefit of steady increases when the economy is growing, without having to rely on creating political pressure to promote periodic increase. On the other hand, Raptakis said, businesses would not be hurt by steep increases that they could not plan for.
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The senator also noted that there has already been one proposal to increase the minimum wage another 50 cents to $6.65 — resulting in an increase in the minimum wage of nearly 30 percent in the last two years.
“Our new Senate Majority Leader has rightly pointed out the importance of having a strong business climate in our state to protect the state’s economy,” Raptakis said. “We need a minimum wage increase that makes sense for the workers but doesn’t pull small business out of the operation.”
