Tentative deal struck on minimum wage raise and indexing

ALBANY, N.Y. — A tentative deal has been struck to raise New York’s minimum wage over the next several years, according to two officials familiar with the conversations.

Under the proposed compromise, the state’s minimum wage would increase by roughly 50 cents per year to eventually hit $17.The New York City area, where minimum wage is $15, would hit the target first. The proposal would phase in slightly more slowly north of Westchester County, where the minimum wage is currently $14.20.After that, raises would be linked to inflation, a measure Gov. Kathy Hochul championed in her executive budget.

Progressive labor advocates had said Hochul’s proposal would be useless if New York started off at its current minimum wage.

They say that $17 an hour in the national context is low compared to other major cities such as Denver and Seattle, which already exceed $17 and will be far ahead of New York by the time the increases are complete.

The slight bump doesn’t exactly meet their demands. Senate Labor Chair Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) had wanted the increase to hit at least $20 first.“This puts New York behind Flagstaff, Arizona,” Ramos tweeted Monday night. “No disrespect to Flagstaff, Arizona.”The governor’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment.The deal has not yet been finalized as part of ongoing negotiations. A higher minimum wage would be part of a state budget for the fiscal year that started April 1, but is now nearly a month late. The sides are hoping to approve the budget as soon as this week.