Mayor Martin Walsh supports raising minimum wage to $15

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced Monday that he supports raising the minimum wage in Massachusetts from $10 to $15 per hour, according to Bonnie McGilpin, spokesperson for Walsh.

“Mayor Walsh supports raising the minimum wage to $15 in Boston and across Massachusetts,” McGilpin wrote in an email. “The Mayor understands the complexities and that’s why he is convening a committee in Boston composed of business, labor and community leaders that will investigate the benefits and challenges.”

The current minimum wage rests at $10 per hour, which is part of a hike implemented in 2014 by former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. That legislation will further increase wages to $11 per hour in January 2017.

Walsh’s position sparked debate among several public policy figures in the commonwealth.

In a Monday press conference, Massachusetts Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) and Massachusetts Senate President Stanley Rosenberg (D-Amherst) were joined by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to discuss raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Rosenberg noted that the wage increase is currently under discussion as the Massachusetts Senate considers the various options in front of them.

“No decisions have been made, but it is under very active discussion,” Rosenberg said during the press conference. “We have one more year of the existing minimum wage. It will kick in next January, so stay tuned.”

When asked whether he supported the wage hike, Rosenberg did not address the question directly but explained the need for a wage increase in Boston and other cities in the commonwealth.

“I support a living wage,” Rosenberg said during the press conference. “Income inequality is rampant in this country and Massachusetts is one of the significantly unequal between the top earners and the lowest, and Boston is one of the leading cities of the country with such a large economy. People at the lowest end are really struggling.”

DeLeo, on the other hand, emphasized the need to let the current minimum wage legislation expire before exploring further changes.

“We’ve got to wait until January, the last installment of the minimum wage,” DeLeo said during the press conference. “Then we can have a discussion. It’s premature now for us to talk about changes that we would extend presently.”

Chris Geehern, executive vice president of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, told The Daily Free Press that there are several reasons why the wage increase would ultimately stifle the Massachusetts economy.

“Going from $10 to $15 reduces the number of people you can hire, so therefore, job growth slows down,” Geehern said. “The other issue is called wage compression. Workers who make $15 per hour now look at new people coming into the company with no experience and they’re now getting paid $15 per hour, so it bumps up wages throughout the system, not just at the minimum wage level.”

Moreover, Geehern explained the impact an increase would have on the City of Boston as opposed to the rest of Massachusetts.

“It’s one thing to talk about a $15 minimum wage in Boston, which is one of the most expensive places in the country to live and work, but when you try to overlay that wage structure in places like Springfield and New Bedford, where the cost of living and wage are generally a lot lower, it doesn’t translate really well,” Geehern said. “So it’s very difficult to come up with a statewide policy that’s really effective in terms of wages.”

Several Boston residents shared opinions regarding another minimum wage hike in the city.

Juan Williams, 20, of Roxbury, expressed concern about the wage hike, particularly due to the high cost of living in Boston.

“The real problem is how expensive it is to live in Boston,” he said. “I absolutely support workers and their progress towards better conditions, but I think raising the minimum wage would be a short-term solution.”

Edwin Concepcion, 42, of Dorchester, said the wage hike is important to employees struggling to support their families and hopes to see the increase go beyond $15.

“I think it is a great idea, especially for those who are trying to support their family while being single,” he said. “I still think it is not enough, especially when everything else is going up, but it’s a start and hopefully in the future it’ll go up more. We all know the more money you make, the more expensive things will get.”

Yuliya Askerka, 29, of Brighton, said a minimum wage hike would be beneficial to Boston residents.

“A lot of people, even people who are educated, don’t have that many possibilities for jobs because of things like discrimination,” she said. “People should definitely be able to make a living with minimum wage.”

Alyssa Meyers contributed to the reporting of this article.