Democrat candidate Rebecca Bennett, running for the U.S. Congress in New Jersey’s 7th District, backs a bill that a study says would crush 60,000 jobs in her state alone and 5 million nationwide.
The Democrat said she would support a minimum wage of $25 per hour. New Jersey Democrat Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ) helped lead the Living Wage For All Act, which would ensure a minimum wage increase to $25 per hour over the next “several” years, moving from $7.25 to $12.00 in the first year. Further, the “subminimum” wages for tipped workers would also end in a phased manner.
In June Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced the legislation in the Senate.
Currently well over a dozen states have a state minimum wage greater than the federal requirement, with many going to $15 or more. Bennett stated she would like to see the federal minimum move to $25 per hour.
But a recent Employment Policies Institute study found that this proposal would slash 5 million jobs over the next five years. According to the study, young workers would be the hardest hit, with over half the losses for workers under the age of 25 just getting started.
Restaurant workers would also face massive job losses, according to the study:
- Fifty-two percent of losses (-2.65 million jobs) would be for workers under the age of 25, with -1.85 million jobs lost for teens alone;
- More than one-third (-1.74 million jobs) would be in the restaurant industry, which employs one of the largest shares of minimum wage workers;
- Over 500,000 jobs would be lost across supermarkets (-204,495 jobs), elementary and high schools (-159,189 jobs), and construction (-146,056 jobs);
- Nearly a quarter would be those held by tipped workers (-1.22 million jobs) due to the elimination of the tip credit;
- Roughly sixty percent (-3 million) would be those held by women.
The study estimated that Texas would stand as one of the states hardest hit by a $25 minimum wage, losing roughly 831,289 jobs. Pennsylvania is estimated to lose 295,473 jobs, followed by Georgia (253,708 jobs), and North Carolina (250,000 jobs). But Democrats are all in for the bill.
New Jersey’s Rep. Mejia said:
Working families are paying more for just about everything. Inflation is at its highest level in three years, while the costs of housing, groceries, and everyday essentials continue to climb. Yet the federal minimum wage has been frozen since 2009. That is outrageous. If you work full time, you should be able to afford to live with dignity.
We need an economy that reflects today’s reality, not one stuck nearly two decades in the past. I fought to raise New Jersey’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and was proud to lead the fight in the House with my friend Delia Ramirez to raise the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour. I’m grateful to Senators Murphy, Blumenthal, Kim, and Wyden for their leadership in the Senate, because the Living Wage for All Act has the power to change lives for millions of workers. It’s time to build an economy that works for all, not just billionaires and corporations.
Mejia and Bennett’s state of New Jersey would face 58,925 job losses. And this would not be the first time Bennett has voted against the best interests of the New Jersey worker; she opposed the Big, Beautiful Bill with its provisions of no tax on tips or overtime and tax relief for seniors – and claimed the “awful” legislation provided “tax breaks for the wealthiest among us,” ignoring the tax cuts extended to the middle class.
“Radical Democrat Rebecca Bennett’s pitch to New Jerseyans is quite the deal: A vote for Bennett is a vote to kill nearly 60,000 jobs and against policies that put more money back in workers’ pockets,” national Republican congressional committee spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said in a statement. “Bennett can claim she stands with New Jersey families all she wants; voters can do the math on her partisan, economy-crushing agenda.”
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