These changes are necessary for many business owners to stay afloat in the state of New York. Lido Restaurant owner Susannah Koteen notes the adverse impacts of a higher minimum wage.
“What it really forces you to do is make sure that nobody works more than 40 hours. You can only cut back so many people before the service starts to suffer.”
McNally Jackson Books owner Sarah McNally also confirms that the $15.00 per hour minimum wage is hurting her business:
“With raising minimum wage to living wage, it feels now like we’re at the bottom of the pay spectrum. There’s absolutely no benefit to being a retail business in New York.”
Harm to Small Businesses Across the State
Small businesses across New York face true harm in light of the $15.00 hour minimum wage. Many of these establishments are shutting down, something which takes jobs from communities and hurts the working class. In certain cases, the costs of higher minimum wages are counteracted by raising prices on customers. This, too, adversely affects the community of New York.
