Negative political ads have become all too common in American politics. Sadly, this style of campaigning has steadily crept into Maine. Such ads go against Maine’s longstanding tradition of civility, cast a shadow on our entire political system and disengage voters. What’s more concerning is that negative campaigning has made it increasingly difficult to recruit qualified, reasonable individuals to run for office.
It is particularly disappointing that a political action campaign (PAC), funded by labor unions, has already set a negative tone for this election cycle, funding attack ads all over the state. As is usually the case with these ads, they distort facts, taking words and votes out of context, bending them to portray a candidate in the worst possible light.
This, my friends, is politics at its worst, and also quite possibly a gross misuse of hard-earned wages funneled from paychecks as a condition of employment. I urge you to do your own research. Political ads in Maine must be labeled with the group which paid for them. Investigate those groups and consider where their funding comes from.
As a sitting legislator, my votes are a matter of public record, including minimum wage. In my opinion, it is important to distinguish between a minimum wage and a living wage. Minimum wage is intended for entry level, low-skilled positions. The overwhelming majority of such workers are teenagers. Only 2-3 percent of those earning minimum wage are actually adults supporting families.
As Senate Chair and a longtime member of the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee (LCRED), I have dealt extensively with this issue. Prior to the minimum wage referendum that passed in 2016, I believed a gradual increase from $7.50 an hour to $10 an hour over a four or a five year period was long overdue.
However, the law passed at the ballot in 2016 goes too far, too fast, particularly for rural Maine. The referendum increased the minimum wage from $7.50 an hour to $9 in 2017, up to $10 in 2018. It will increase to $11 in 2019 and $12 in 2020. It will continue to increase every year, as it is now indexed using an uncommon index, CPIW. Other states and the federal government use the CPIU index. You can guess which index is the higher.
To be clear, this wage is a minimum wage for anyone. My 14 year old has a job this summer and will be earning $10 an hour to scoop ice cream. Two years from now that same job will earn a 14-year-old $12 an hour.
Last session, over the course of a seven hour hearing, my committee heard from businesses all across the state. Many said they had already shortened hours, laid off staff, increased prices or closed their doors. Large corporations can absorb the increased costs; it’s the small mom and pop shops that feel the pain.
Additionally, such a rapid increase – which is completely unprecedented in any state – results in dramatic wage pressure. The worker who had been paid $10 an hour before must now be paid $12 or more and up it goes, stressing budgets in both the private and public sectors. Taxes may increase as a result at the state and municipal level.
This session, I supported an amendment which I felt was an extremely reasonable compromise. It would have slowed the increase down so that we reached $12 an hour in four years rather than in two, giving our locally owned small businesses time to catch their breath and our economy time to adjust. The bill also would have created an 80 percent training wage for anyone under 18 (excepting emancipated minors) for the first 200 hours of work, as most other states allow, often with no time limit.
As always, an employer could choose not to pay the training wage or to bump a quick learner up before the end of the 200 hours. Additionally, it is a decision for parents and children to make together whether and where to have a minor work at all.
In the end, this bill failed in the House along party lines.
So that is where I stand. I do not, and never have, favored cutting the minimum wage. If you ever have any questions about my positions or any of my votes, please feel free to contact me.
Amy Volk is serving her second term in the Maine Senate and represents the people of Senate District 30 which includes Gorham and parts of Scarborough and Buxton. She is the Senate Assistant Majority Leader, the Chair of the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee and is also a member of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
(207) 287-1505 | (800) 423-6900 | amy.volk@legislature.maine.gov