STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, SEPT. 19, 2017…..A debate over adequate worker compensation that was waged before a legislative committee Tuesday and could be headed to the ballot next November has pitted two struggling groups against one another.
On one side, workers earning the $11 an hour minimum wage spoke about living in poverty while holding down jobs at successful businesses. On the other side, small business representatives said hiking the minimum wage to $15 over the next four years would be a death knell for retailers already chafing against the high cost of doing business in Massachusetts while competing against tax-free sellers from New Hampshire and the internet.