PRESS RELEASE: Big Labor Bosses Wrong Again on Minimum Wage Hike

September 4, 2014

For Immediate Release
Contact: Nick Novak, 608-237-7290

[Madison, Wisc…] Nick Novak, Director of Communications at the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, released the following statement in response to the union-organized minimum wage protests on Thursday.

“In yet another political stunt, unions have organized protests across Wisconsin and the country to call for a higher minimum wage and the right to form a union. With the research pointing to massive job losses, it is clear Big Labor is only in this fight to put more money in its own union-bosses’ pockets.

“Study after study has shown raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour will only serve to hurt workers. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said it would cost the U.S. half a million jobs and another report showed Wisconsin would stand to lose 16,500 jobs.

“I can only imagine what would happen if the minimum wage was hiked to $15 an hour. Not only would thousands of more people be out of a job, the opportunity for young workers to get their foot in the door and gain valuable experience would clearly diminish.

“The unions have shown they are willing to go to extreme lengths to get more money in their coffers and today’s protests are no different. Union bosses are actually encouraging fast-food workers to break the law. That is simply unacceptable.

“Instead of using these despicable tactics for political gain, unions should be more focused on a real conversation about how we can improve the economy for everyone. To create more, higher paying jobs, lawmakers need to instill pro-growth policies that expand our economy, not gimmicks that hurt the most vulnerable.”