HELENA — A bill in the Montana Legislature seeks to increase Montana’s minimum wage by $1.25 an hour by next year.
State minimum wage is $8.75 an hour, or just shy of $16,000 per year, after taxes. Senate Bill 187 would increase the minimum wage to $10 an hour in 2022 and add an extra dollar every year, culminating in a $12 an hour minimum wage in 2024.
The proposed $1.25 an hour raise would give Montanans about $2,000 more per year.
Sen. Mark Sweeney, D-Helena, the bill’s sponsor, said his bill is about more than a wage.
“It doesn’t raise taxes or give a government handout. What it does is it gives hope,” Sweeney said.
He said giving workers a raise would allow them to put more money back into their communities.
“Employees can finish their shift, grab a beer from the brewery, pick up a pizza on their way home, and maybe make needed repairs on their vehicles,” Sweeney said. “This is money that’s spent locally.”
Minimum wage workers make $3,673 less annually now than they would have if wages had increased at the rate of inflation since 1971.
Proponents representing unions and small businesses echoed Sweeney’s ideas.
John Forkan spoke on behalf of the Montana State Building and Construction Trades Council and was one of five who testified in support of the bill. Even though his organization doesn’t represent many minimum wage workers, he said he spoke in solidarity with all workers.
“They aren’t looking for a handout. They’re looking for a hand up,” Forkan said.
The bill’s opponents raised concerns over rising prices and companies closing their doors if payroll expenses increase. They proposed ways to give people a living wage that don’t involve increasing the minimum wage.
Bridger Mahlum from the Montana Chamber of Commerce was one of the bill’s two opponents at the hearing. He said lawmakers should focus on providing training for low-wage workers so they can move into higher paying jobs rather than forcing a wage increase.
“I would suffice to say that you need to think about the potential domino effect that raising the minimum wage, at any amount, really has,” Mahlum said. “It’s not just about the wage that you’re paying extra on, it’s also the other costs.”
He said minimum wage jobs should be an entrance to the workforce where people develop the skills to move to a better paying job.
In 2019, 41.5% of people working at the federal minimum wage were over 25, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
James Bradley is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation.
