(Washington, DC) -- In response to today's California Industrial Welfare Commission vote to raise the minimum wage in the state to $6.75 per hour by 2002, Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) President Christopher Wysocki released the following statement:
"Today's vote by the Industrial Welfare Commission is just the latest blow to the small business community in California. Raising the minimum wage will not do any good for the thousands of workers who may be laid off as a result of today's ruling.
"Small businesses operate on a very thin profit margin already, and today's IWC action likely will be most felt by those businesses operating in high unemployment rate areas. The low-wage areas of the state will be the hardest hit, and this action is just another example of Sacramento bureaucrats not understanding the diversity of the state.
"Minimum wage workers are most often those seeking to gain the skills to become productive members of the workforce. Raising the wage floor may make politicians feel better, but it will do nothing to help those who won't be able to find work as a result of small businesses being unable to afford to hire more people. This ruling is simply irresponsible and puts not only businesses at risk, but also the workers of California."
The Small Business Survival Committee is a nationwide, nonprofit advocacy organization representing more than 60,000 small business men and women across America. For more information, please visit the SBSC website at
http://www.sbsc.org/ or call (202) 785-0238.
