The New Jersey Senate Budget Committee passed a bill raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour after four years. The bill passed 8 to 5 on party lines.

The bill would first raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour from its current position of $8.38 an hour. It would subsequently rise by a dollar a year until it hits $15 an hour. Afterwards, increases will be tied to inflation.

The bill passed the Assembly 42-31 in May. It will now be voted on by the New Jersey State Senate in the coming weeks. Governor Chris Christie (R) is expected to veto the bill.

Republican Senators pushed a carve out to pay youth and seasonal workers less than minimum wage, which ultimately failed.

Brian Powers of 15 Now NJ testified before the committee. His testimony is as follows:

15 Now was inspired by workers in Seattle who successfully advocated for a $15 an hour minimum wage. In New Jersey we have an all-volunteer organization made up of students, union members, and low wage workers themselves. After two years of organizing we are happy to see that this bill has been introduced, and we look forward to seeing 15 on the ballot next year. But this proposal is in jeopardy of being watered down. We heard in the Assembly debate suggestions of loopholes, exceptions, or delays. The working class should not have to wait for economic justice, all labor has dignity there are no exceptions.

New Jersey is one of the wealthiest states in the wealthiest nation that has ever existed. Yet 38% of New Jersey households struggle to make ends meet not because there’s something lacking in their character or worthiness, but because the economic inequality generated by this system has reached grotesque proportions. No one who works full-time should live in poverty.

Our opponents claim low-wage workers are mostly kids working after-school jobs at fast-food joints. That’s a myth. The vast majority of applicants to low-wage positions are adults seeking to achieve the American Dream. The average age of a minimum wage worker is 35. 88% are over the age of 20. More than 25% are parents and they are disproportionately women and people of color. On average, their paychecks represent half of their household’s earnings. These workers struggle every day to make ends meet. They can’t afford new clothes for interviews for a better job, the car essential to travel around the suburbs, the medicine necessary to survive, and never mind a vacation that provides a break from the daily grind of work.

In 2014 a woman named Maria Fernandes was working three Dunkin' Donuts jobs to make ends meet. Despite her three jobs, she still struggled at times to pay her $550 monthly rent for her apartment in Newark. She was found in Elizabeth dead in her car after trying to nap between shifts. A gas can had tipped over in the trunk of her car and she was overcome by the fumes. Poverty kills. By all accounts Maria was a hard working woman who never complained about the grueling hours she had to endure to sustain her family. We should not be forcing the working class to go through such hardships, we should be working as quickly as possible to eliminate the condition known as “working poor.”

For 40 years, worker productivity has increased significantly while wages have barely budged in a wide range of professions, which has caused the buying power of many to decrease. The benefits of the raise in productivity have gone to the wealthy. The demand for 1$5 now is not a handout, it is one step towards economic justice.

In New Jersey, over 800,000 workers makes less than $15 an hour. A wide range of jobs don’t provide the wages people need to thrive in New Jersey. Some recent job ads tell the story: a certified forklift driver starts at $13 an hour. Laboratory technician, $12 an hour. Factory molder, $11 an hour with a mandatory 6-day work week. A worker with 2 years of college under their belt can apply to become a classroom aide at $10-11 an hour. With 2-4 years of college and a minimum 3.0 GPA someone can process mortgage and refinancing applications for $12.50 an hour. A worker Bilingual in English and French can process customer orders for $13 an hour.

The people who aren’t making it in New Jersey are the people entering the data, assembling the products, packing the orders, and unloading trucks. We’re keeping the shelves at the stores stocked. We do the jobs that need to be done so that our society doesn’t grind to a halt.

Because we stand in solidarity with the whole working class, we recognize the plight of tipped workers, whose real wages might be determined on any given day by those who feel entitled to their services for free. While some tipped workers at high-end venues might receive generous tips, the diner waitress working the night shift isn’t so lucky. Their wages too must be raised to $15 an hour.

15 Now NJ also supports youth workers and their right to earn a living wage. Throughout the country and in New Jersey, there has been a discussion about excluding teenagers from the wave of recent minimum wage increases. Such a loophole is unfair and unwarranted since the fast-food and major retail chains are seeing record corporate profits, and can readily afford to pay a higher minimum wage.

Popular belief would have you believe that the majority of low wage workers are teenagers earning pocket money. In fact, many youth workers are helping to support their parents or their own families. An Urban Institute study of working teens found that a third of the kids contribute more than 20 percent of the total annual income of their households, a tenth contributed more than 50 percent.

Students shouldn’t have to drop out of school to support their families or because they need to pay back a mountain of student loan debt. We need an economy that works for working people and youth and a system that allows them to reach their full potential. Teens who are struggling along with their parents shouldn’t be excluded from these increases.

Many of the arguments against guaranteeing workers a living wage we’ve heard today have been in circulation since the first minimum wage law was passed in 1938. Every time it has been necessary to increase the rate due to inflation, corporate lobbyists insist on revisiting debates that were settled decades ago by evidence. Raising the minimum wage does not drive up prices; it follows in the wake of price increases while big business stalls for time by tying us up in political fights like this one.

Many argue that raising the minimum wage will lead to a loss of jobs. We already live in an economy that has seen the loss of millions of “living wage” jobs and the creation of millions of low wage jobs. In the U.S., 42 million jobs pay less than $15 per hour. As we have seen from a recent study of Seattle’s increase by the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance raising the minimum wage does not kill jobs; it helps create them by increasing consumer demand.

Some say raising the minimum wage inters with the “free market.” Let me assure those who haven’t been paying attention, we haven’t had a “free market” since the 19th century. Laws and regulations shape the economy and often provide the wealthy with unfair advantages: tax breaks, tax cuts, bailouts, and rigged courts for the few. But just because a small percentage of the population has controlled the majority of the wealth does not mean this is the only possible method of wealth distribution. The relationship between supply and demand is not the only determining factors that can decide whether or not a worker can have a living wage or its equivalent.

Raising the minimum wage does not represent an existential threat to small businesses. Those claiming to represent small businesses are roping them into advocating against their own interests. A few small businesses are serving as the front for multinational corporations that pay poor wages and demand a plethora of tax breaks or threaten to move elsewhere if every single one of their demands is not met. Corporations like Walmart who import cheap goods love low wages, because they limit our ability to shop elsewhere. By cutting labor costs, Main Street handed a great victory to Big Business at its own expense, which is in part why we have currently have so few opportunities to shop locally at small businesses.

The real question we must ask ourselves is: in what kind of society do we want to live in? One in which elites control the economy or one where the workers wield their true economic power? The time for debate is over. Working men and women are questioning whether politicians have their best interests at heart. It is time for our elected officials to pay attention to this demand. As we move into the continuing resolution phase of this process we will continue to organize for 15 Now not later. No more exceptions, no more loopholes, no more compromising with large businesses who already have enough considerations. This effort is about the workers who deserve better.