Should The Minimum Wage In Westchester Be Raised?

Debra DeCrescenzo
Co-Owner, Jake’s Wayback Burgers; Hartsdale

As the owner of a startup, I see firsthand how harmful raising minimum wage can be for local businesses. Approximately 18 percent of our expenses goes toward wages, and we are already spending nearly $2,000 per week on our workers. If minimum wage were to increase an extra dollar or so per hour, we would be dishing out an extra $100 per week for each full-time employee, which we just can’t afford. 

We’re already spread thin at Jake’s, so firing employees or reducing hours isn’t an option. We’d have to pass the cost along to the consumer to make up for the wage raise. Eight out of 10 startups fail as is, and a wage raise would push these businesses further and further into debt, until they’re inevitably forced to close. 

It’s important for politicians and the public to remember that not all business owners are rich; most walk away with nothing, some leave with a small profit, and barely any become billionaires.

George Williams
President and CEO, AG Williams Painting; Pelham

Minimum wage was created to show the bare minimum that the most unskilled worker should be paid. But now, we’re subjecting a huge chunk of our work force to $8 an hour, all because they don’t have a degree. Most of my workers are not college educated—they’re average guys that represent the lower and middle class struggling to make ends meet. It’s because of them that I think minimum wage should be raised. Here at AG Williams Painting, everyone is paid nearly $15 an hour, and that still isn’t enough. We spend 40 percent on wages, which is more than most service businesses. I could still increase wages by 2 to 3 percent before I start to lose profit, because the painting industry has a low margin and is a highly competitive business. And since most businesses aren’t going to willingly pay an extra few dollars per hour, it is up to our government to implement this change. 

If we raise the wage at a steady incline, I think our lower-level workers will have a much greater chance of success without harming the rest of us. 

Bill Diamond
Owner, Grand Prix New York Racing/Spins Bowl; Mount Kisco

We live in one of the most expensive counties in the nation where the cost of living is extremely high. It may be possible to live off of $8 an hour in, say, Oxford, Mississippi, but not here in Westchester. Therefore, minimum wage should be a local issue, not a federal one. At Grand Prix New York, our starting positions pay above the minimum wage. I think $10 is an appropriate minimum wage for Westchester County, since this increase would help entry-level workers without having a drastic effect on local business. But there’s definitely a threshold for minimum wage that shouldn’t be passed; it must be raised or lowered with caution. I think we can all learn from Seattle, which recently set their minimum wage at $15 an hour. At a wage that high, I predict a tremendous decline in the number of entry-level positions available, as employers will eliminate any unnecessary positions and technology will replace workers. Restaurants will swap their waitstaff for tablets, grocery stores will rely on self-checkout lines, and ATMs will replace bank tellers. It’s important to remember that once these positions are eliminated, they’re gone for good.