In Lansing Thursday, the House Labor Committee heard testimony both for and against a bill sponsored by State Representative Joey Andrews that would effectively allow local governments to set their own local minimum wage that’s higher than the state minimum wage.
Testifying in support of the bill was Berrien County Commissioner Chokwe Pitchford who said it’s about making sure workers get a wage they can live on.
“I don’t want my children or their children or the workers of today to have to deal with substandard wages… have to deal with not being able to retire with benefits… not be able to have a pension when they retire,” said Pitchford.
Committee Republicans pushed back on the effort saying it would cause a level of cost and unpredictability that small business owners can’t handle.
“When your business in Benton Harbor loses their employees to St. Joe, and they’re working in St. Joe because they can pay more, then what are you going to do for a tax base in Benton Harbor?” said State Representative Mike Mueller from Linden.
Michigan is one of 28 states that prevents local governments from setting higher minimum wages. The bill is still in committee.
