House backs minimum wage raise to $8

House lawmakers yesterday unanimously voted to raise the minimum wage to $8 an hour, one of the highest in the country, but rejected a push to tie future increases to the cost of living.

The bill moves today to the Senate, which has already approved a measure that would increase the minimum wage to $8.25 an hour, the highest in the country, and would offer automatic increases tied to the urban consumer price index.

The House, going into session late in the afternoon, also thwarted an attempt by Governor Mitt Romney to slash pay raises for judges and other court personnel.

But much of the afternoon's work was devoted to the minimum wage. Senate sponsors said they will now try to negotiate a bill that is closer to the one the Senate passed unanimously in May.

``I'm disappointed in the House action," said Senator Marc R. Pacheco, Democrat of Taunton, the chief Senate sponsor. ``There is an opportunity here to do a little bit more for the minimum-wage worker. This falls short of what they deserve -- a fair wage for a fair day's work. Even what we filed was conservative."

Had the state's current minimum wage, $6.75 an hour, simply been adjusted for inflation since taking effect in 2001, he said, the minimum wage would now be $9 .

The Legislature voted in 1999 to raise the minimum wage in two steps, from $5.25 to $6 , beginning in 2000 and from $6 to $6.75 in 2001.

Under the House bill, the minimum wage would jump to $7.25 an hour in October 2006, to $7.75 in October 2007, and to $8 in October 2008. At that level, it would be one of the three highest in the country. Washington state and Oregon, which both tie increases to the cost of living, could be slightly higher, based on projected rises in the cost of living.

Four states -- Washington, Oregon, Florida, and Vermont -- ``index" their minimum wage to the cost of living.

House members unanimously supported some adjustment of the minimum wage, but were divided over the amount and whether to include cost of living increases.

``More than 100 years ago, Massachusetts was the first state in the nation to create a minimum wage," said Representative J. James Marzilli Jr. , an Arlington Democrat who had sponsored a bill that would have increased the minimum wage to $8.25 and called for automatic cost-of-living increases. ``This is part of our tradition. We're a high-cost state, and it requires a higher income to live here."

Representative Michael J. Rodrigues, a Westport Democrat who is chairman of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, led the fight against inflation indexing.

``It has been my position and the position of the speaker that putting it on automatic pilot is very poor fiscal and economic policy," said Rodrigues.

It is unclear whether Romney, a probusiness Republican mulling a run for president, would back either proposal. Though he has repeatedly expressed support for a minimum wage indexed to inflation, spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom yesterday deferred comment ``until a bill is sent to the governor."

Supporters of an increase yesterday praised the House, saying the increase will help hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers.

``This was a really important step in restoring the value of the minimum wage, and hundreds of thousands of workers in Massachusetts are going to get a much deserved raise," said Carl Nilsson, spokesman for Neighbor to Neighbor, a group that organizes low-income families. ``We had hoped indexing would be included, but we still see this as a huge victory for low-income workers and a great step towards giving a fair day's pay for a hard day's work."

Business groups lobbied hard against a big increase in the minimum wage and indexing, which essentially guarantees future increases. They say the high cost of labor in Massachusetts gives neighboring states a competitive edge.

``It certainly is disappointing," said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, which represents 3,000 retailers and restaurants. ``There are a lot of folks, particularly teenagers, who can't find jobs this summer. This raises the cost of employing people and puts employers in the position of either having to employ less people or significantly raise their prices. "

Also yesterday, the House rejected attempts by Romney to scale back pay raises for judges, court clerks, and sheriffs . Lawmakers rejected amendments offered by Romney that would have reduced the raises from 15 percent to 4.1 percent. The original pay packages will now go back to Romney, who must sign or veto them.