A special panel created by Governor Andrew Cuomo voted Wednesday to raise the minimum wage for fast-food workers in the state to $15 by 2021.
The wage would be increased in stages to $15 an hour statewide by July 1, 2021. That represents a 70 percent raise in salaries for those workers earning the current minimum of $8.75 an hour.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown was among the panelists on the wage board, which has been studying the issue. The recommendation must now be approved by the state Labor Department.
On Wednesday's edition of the Capitol Pressroom, Cuomo said state taxpayers are subsidizing fast-food workers who can't make ends make on their current wages.
"McDonalds has had unprecedented profits. They pay a wage that keeps people below poverty," Cuomo said. "The taxpayer has to subsidize the salary of McDonalds employees."
Representatives of the fast-food industry say their local franchisees will be adversely affected and will be forced to trim their workforce.