A $10.25 minimum wage?

Some Democratic lawmakers want to raise Delaware's minimum wage to $10.25 by 2017, a move that will be strongly opposed by Delaware chambers of commerce, restaurants and the state's retail industry. The state's bottom wage will rise to $8.25 this June under legislation passed and signed by Gov. Jack Markell last year.

The new proposal comes from the Low Wage, Service Industry Task Force, a group chaired by two Democratic lawmakers.

"We made some progress last year, when we raised the minimum wage, but we knew we still had work to do," Sen. Robert Marshall, a Wilmington Democrat and task force co-chair, said in a written statement. "We think this plan has practical recommendations that will help not just people at the bottom of the economic ladder, but all Delawareans."

Rep. Michael Mulrooney, a Pennwood Democrat and the task force's co-chair, said the group's "goal was to recommend steps that will make the lives of Delaware's working poor better and I think we've done that job."

Delaware lawmakers should raise the state's minimum wage to $10.25 in two steps, and index future increases to inflation, the task force said in a report published Friday.

The state should have a goal of a $15 minimum wage, target higher minimum wages for certain sectors of the economy, and raise the minimum wage for tipped workers beyond its current level of $2.23 per hour.

The group included lawmakers, representatives from organized labor and the business community, but was stacked with members who favor a minimum wage increase.

There was dissent.

A minority of task force members, including two Republican lawmakers and two representatives of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, opposed the recommendations in a minority report included within Friday's report.

"Delaware family incomes have not recovered since their precipitous drop in 2008, and it is vitally important that the Delaware State Government not pursue policies, regardless of how well-intentioned, that will reduce the number of jobs available, the number of hours worked, and reduce take-home pay for workers," they said in a minority report.



The minority group included Republican Sen. Colin Bonini, of Dover, and Republican Rep. Mike Ramone, of Middle Run Valley. They recommended studying a lower, training and seasonal wage for Delaware workers.

A November letter from the Delaware Restaurant Association that was critical of the task force's work is also included in Friday's report.

The group expressed "serious concerns" about the committee's work, saying supporters of a higher minimum wage were bused to the group's meeting and compensated with free lunch. The group also complained that it was not formally asked to participate as a part of the group, and said too few business representatives were invited to attend.

It will be worth watching Markell's response to any minimum wage legislation. Markell is likely to oppose some of the task force's recommendations, including the proposal to index future increases to inflation. That proposal was amended out of an early version of minimum wage legislation that passed the General Assembly last year.

But a spokeswoman said Friday that Markell is proud of his record on the minimum wage. "The Governor was proud to support a $1 increase in the minimum wage last year and looks forward to talking with Senator Marshall about the work of the task force," spokeswoman Kelly Bachman said by email.

Markell said last month state lawmakers and policymakers should focus on growing the economy and economic policies that help middle class workers.

"On the one hand, minimum wage matters," Markell said during a meeting with News Journal reporters and editors. "But I think it's also fair to say that there aren't a lot of people with middle class jobs who are aspiring to an increase in the minimum wage. There are a whole lot of people....who have not seen any kind of wage growth over the years. It's not just the folks at the lowest end, it's also people in middle class jobs. The question is how do we address that?"

Contact Jonathan Starkey at (302) 983-6756, on Twitter @jwstarkey or at jstarkey@delawareonline.com.