Locals lead push for pay hike

LYNN – Local and state campaigns to increase Massachusetts? eight dollar an hour minimum wage are under way even as U.S. Rep. John Tierney pushes for Congress to pass his proposal to boost the federal minimum wage.The Salem Democrat on Friday said he is co-sponsoring a bill to boost the federal wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 over two years and, beginning in the third year and moving forward, tie the hourly wage to the cost of living.Tierney said boosting the minimum wage benefits Americans living in the economic landscape between wealth and poverty.?The middle class is what drives this economy,” he said.Minimum wage versus “living wage” is one of the topics up for discussion at Monday night?s New Lynn Coalition jobs forum in the Lynn Museum, 590 Washington St., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Forum participant and School Committee member Maria Carrasco said the discussion will focus on wages as well as education and training priorities for Lynn?s working residents.?We will have data to show how many people in Lynn earn minimum wage and we want people who can bring ideas,” Carrasco said.Massachusetts minimum wage increase advocates want voters in 2014 to determine if the eight dollar an hour wage should be increased. They protested outside the Lynnway Walmart store this week and said a ballot referendum measure on wages would also include a proposal for workers to earn sick time.?The time has come to give Massachusetts workers access to earned sick time, and to provide them with financial relief by raising the minimum wage to meet the rising cost of living,” advocacy group Raise Up Massachusetts stated in a press release.The National Federation of Independent Business warned this week, according to the State House News Service, that a legislative proposal to boost the state minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2015 could cost Massachusetts nearly 63,000 jobs over 10 years.?This proposal would hit the economy like a wrecking ball and we think it?s important for lawmakers to understand the potential consequences before they adopt it,” the News Service quoted Federation State Director Bill Vernon as saying.The News Service cited Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center research indicating the minimum wage has increased six times since 1995 and each increase has seen employment growth in economic sectors with large numbers of minimum wage workers outpace growth in other sectors.