Interview with Dem-NPL State Rep. LaurieBeth Hager of Fargo with Austin Erickson on WDAY Midday
BISMARCK, N.D. – A North Dakota lawmaker wants the state’s minimum wage to be raised from $7.25 an hour, but doesn’t plan to introduce a bill to do so.
The North Dakota minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum wage which hasn’t been raised since 2009.
Democratic-NPL State Representative LaurieBeth Hager of Fargo says she introduced bills in the past two Legislative sessions to raise the minimum wage, but they didn’t get any support. She wants to put a plan of increasing the state’s minimum wage to $9.25 an hour on the ballot with a cost of living increase. That would require thousands of North Dakotans to sign a petition to create a ballot measure.
“That methodology has been successfully conducted in South Dakota and Nebraska,” Hager explained.
Hager says some arguments she’s received on not raising the minimum wage are that business owners should be able to control the wage of their workers, the possibility of losing jobs, some feel no wage should be higher than the federal minimum wage and some arguing no one is making $7.25 an hour in the state.
“If even anybody is doing that, I think we can do better. We’re a wealthy state and we need to encourage everybody to know the worth of every individual,” Hager said.
We’ve reached out to the North Dakota Congressional Delegation asking if they support raising the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and if they believe that wage is a livable one.
“As we’ve shown in North Dakota, the best way to increase wages is through a strong economy, creating jobs and increasing demand for labor. It’s through pro-growth policies, like tax and regulatory relief, that we create greater opportunity and prosperity for Americans. It should be up to the states to determine their own minimum wage, rather than the federal government imposing a one-size-fits-all policy,” Senator John Hoeven said.
Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak didn’t mention if she supports raising the federal minimum wage, but says “I trust the elected North Dakota legislators to determine the best wage policy for our state.”
“Mandating an increase in the minimum wage is not a way to raise wages. The way to raise wages is to knock down regulations for businesses, for investors, for financial institutions, and that’s what we’re going to do in the next couple years, is unleash the potential of the American economy to create more jobs, better jobs, and move wages up the old-fashioned way, with free markets,” Senator Kevin Cramer said.
