Aug. 7, 2014 - Gov. Martin
O'Malley (D-MD) and U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez highlighted the
benefits of raising the minimum wage in an event at Boloco in
Bethesda.
[At center in the photo above is Boloco CEO Patrick Renna; Montgomery
County Executive Ike Leggett also participated in the event].
O'Malley
made raising the minimum wage a top priority of the 2014 legislative
session, and on May 5, 2014 he signed a bill to raise Maryland's
minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour by July 2018.
He had sought to achieve the raise by 2016 and wanted a higher level
but legislative compromise was necessary. (The measure faced
strong opposition from Republicans and the business community, notably
the NFIB). In his first term, back in May 2007, O'Malley signed
the first statewide "living wage" measure in the country, affecting the
pay of government contractors. |