A three-person state wage board was given its marching orders Wednesday on how to proceed in determining the adequacy of wages for fast-food workers.
Mario Musolino, acting commissioner of the state Labor Department, was instructed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to assemble the wage board to investigate and make recommendations on wages paid to fast-food employees whom the governor has said are not fairly compensated.
Serving on the board are Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown; Mike Fishman, secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union; and Kevin Ryan, a business owner and vice chairman of the Partnership for New York City.
Musolino in his directions to the board defined fast-food chains as “limited-service restaurants where customers order at the counter and pay in advance, which are large chains with multiple locations nationally.”
Business groups in the state have voiced concerns and opposition to Cuomo’s recent move to bypass the state Legislature and single out one industry when setting a higher minimum wage.
“My decision to convene this wage board was based on data and studies that indicate that 60 percent of fast-food workers in New York are in families enrolled in at least one public assistance program and that nationally fast-food workers are twice as likely as all other workers to be in families that receive public assistance,” Musolino told board members.
The board has set a tentative schedule of public meetings to be held in June throughout the state. The public is encouraged to provide oral or written testimony for the board’s investigation.
Meetings are scheduled for June 5 in Buffalo, June 9 in New York City, June 15 on Long Island and June 22 in Albany.
Musolino said he expects to receive the board’s recommendations within 45 days.
