Conservative coalition: Minimum wage hike push from Democrats will kill millions of jobs

The frantic push for coronavirus relief legislation has become an unexpected battleground over the federal minimum wage, pitting conservatives concerned about job losses against liberal labor activists. 

Democratic lawmakers have moved forward on a process that would allow them to pass a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package without GOP support, and President Biden has urged raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour as part of a coronavirus relief package. The federal minimum wage is now $7.25 an hour.   

A coalition of 60 conservative groups, activists, and local officials mobilized against Democrats’ attempts to raise the minimum wage via coronavirus relief legislation on Tuesday and said the wage hikes would kill millions of jobs. 

The 60-group coalition opposed to the new wage hike is led by Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist and includes conservative activists from groups such as FreedomWorks, Heritage Action for America and the Club for Growth, as well as prominent public officials such as former Maine Gov. Paul LePage. 

“A $15 minimum wage would substantially raise the cost of labor at a time when small businesses are already struggling to keep the lights on,” wrote the conservative activists in letters to members of Congress. “Small businesses with thin margins would be forced to pass the costs onto consumers, which could lead to a decline in businesses, a loss of revenue, and layoffs. Businesses that have closed temporarily due to the pandemic may decide not to reopen at all in the face of a higher minimum wage, and many employers will forgo hiring new workers because they cannot afford them.”

The coalition estimated the wage hike would kill millions of Americans’ jobs, shutter thousands of small businesses and prove more damaging than at a regular time because of the pandemic. 

Democrats are intent on advancing their agenda regardless of whether it has any Republican support. While Mr. Biden met with a faction of Republican senators interested in negotiating on Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer kick-started the process for pushing a relief package without the GOP and said Americans “cannot afford any more delays.”

Sen. Susan M. Collins, Maine Republican who met with Mr. Biden, said Tuesday that the 10 Republicans discussed “extraneous provisions” in the coronavirus relief package, which she said included raising the minimum wage. Ms. Collins told reporters Tuesday that she supports raising the minimum wage but not in the coronavirus relief package. 

“It is not relevant to treatment or the economic recovery, or getting vaccines out,” said Ms. Collins of raising the minimum wage. “In fact, it would be very difficult for the hospitality industry, which has been particularly harmed.”

Leading liberal advocacy groups such as One Fair Wage, however, are championing the new minimum and Democrats are marshaling activists to pressure senators to support the increase. One of those groups, Fight For 15, urged backers on its website to call lawmakers and promote the $15 wage on social media, claiming, “we’ve never been closer.”

The liberal Fairness Project has struck a more populist tone to recruit support for ending what it calls “poverty wages.” 

“When it comes to the minimum wage, the biggest gap isn’t between Republicans and Democrats; it’s between politicians who don’t want to raise wages and the people they represent,” said Jonathan Schleifer, the Fairness Project executive director, in a statement. 

Not every Democrat is on board with raising the minimum wage, however. Sen. Joe Manchin III told reporters on Tuesday that he was not supportive of a $15 federal minimum wage. 

The West Virginia Democrat said he thought a more reasonable jump would be $11, an increase over the state’s existing $8.75 minimum wage.

Conservative groups, however, know liberals are within striking distance of accomplishing the federal minimum wage increases and are closely monitoring how Republicans are fighting back. Conservative advocacy groups frustrated by Democrats’ agenda are preparing to score votes on the forthcoming relief legislation. The grades assigned by FreedomWorks and the Club for Growth will help determine how much support conservative advocacy groups provide to representatives and senators.