D.J. SLATER dslater@madison.com
The lowest-paid workers in Wisconsin soon will have a little more change jingling in their pockets.
Today, the state's minimum wage increased to $6.50 an hour, up from the $5.70 mark it reached a year ago. A state law signed by Gov. Jim Doyle on June 1, 2005, put the two-step increase in motion.
"That sounds nice," said Dan McGoey, an employee at Octopus Car Wash, 1039 E. Washington Ave. "It's extra dollars in my pocket everyday. It all adds up."
McGoey, who had made $6 an hour, said he's glad to see the state is looking out for his and other low-wage workers' interests.
But Octopus Car Wash owner Jeff Jurkens will have a harder time adjusting to the increase, he said. For the last six years, Jurkens said, Octopus has charged $7.99 for a car wash. With his employees' starting wages jumping from $6 to $6.50 and the price of supplies increasing, he'll have to break that streak.
"We can't hold the line at $7.99 anymore," Jurkens said. "It's supposed to be a business for profit. It's not a hobby."
Dan Guerra, owner of the Web development company Argus Ventures, said the raise won't affect his business or many others in Madison because they already pay well above minimum wage.
"We have good employees and we're willing to pay for good employees," he said. "It's advantageous for me as a business owner to invest in the people I work with."
The increased wage is $1.35 more than the federal minimum wage of $5.15, which has not risen since 1997. Wisconsin is one of 18 states with a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
"From our point of view, it's all positive," said Rose Lynch, spokeswoman for the Department of Workforce Development. "Employees who are making a fair wage are happier on their job, and that increases productivity."
Last year, the city of Madison - along with Milwaukee, La Crosse and Eau Claire - established local ordinances for minimum wage increases, but the state law overrode the changes. Madison's ordinance had called for the minimum wage to reach $7.75 an hour by 2008.
According to the Department of Workforce Development, about 15,000 to 20,000 Dane County residents work for or close to minimum wage. On the state level, about 200,000 people will be affected by the raise.
Not everyone is satisfied with the results. Ald. Austin King, District 8, said the increase is helpful but doesn't provide a long-term solution to low-wage workers.
"The idea that you can get by on $6.50 an hour is a joke," King said. "We have to find other tools to help give people the ability to survive."
Hayley Spohn, a Downtown waitress and UW-Madison student, makes $2.33 an hour plus tips, which must pay for rent, food and college expenses. The tipped employee minimum wage did not increase.
Spohn said there are times where she can't eat for a day or relies on a friend for food because she runs out of money for groceries.
"It's really a test. You're living from paycheck to paycheck," Spohn said. "You need to make choices and figure out what's the most important thing you can spend your money on."
It's difficult to gauge when the minimum wage will increase again, King said. Since Doyle erased municipalities' authority over minimum wage increases, only the state has the power to determine its trajectory.
"I'm sad that it will be the last time this happens for a while," King said. "Will we be stuck at $6.50 for the next eight years? I certainly hope not."