Hartford, CT – This afternoon, John McKinney cast his vote against raising the minimum wage in Connecticut to $10.10 per hour.  Senator McKinney’s no vote sends a resounding message that he is against the economic progress of Connecticut families and women.

“John McKinney made it clear today that he is actively working against economic progress for Connecticut women and families with his vote against the increase to the minimum wage,” said Connecticut Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo.  “Roughly 60% of Connecticut residents earning the minimum wage are women, and Senator McKinney clearly doesn’t think they deserve a raise.  With Connecticut residents supporting an increase to the minimum wage nearly 3-1, McKinney is out of step with the priorities of mainstream Connecticut.  As Governor Malloy said, no one working full-time in Connecticut should have to raise their family in poverty.”

Background:

McKinney Voted Against Raising The Minimum Wage To $10.10 On March 26, 2014. “With a partisan vote on a pocketbook issue Democrats hope will mobilize voters this fall, the state Senate voted 21 to 14 Wednesday for legislation that would raise Connecticut’s $8.70 minimum wage to $10.10 by January 2017….Every Democrat except Sen. Joan Hartley of Waterbury, which has the second-highest unemployment in the state, voted for the measure. Every Republican except the absent Sen. Jason Welch of Bristol was opposed….Senate Minority Leader John P. McKinney, R-Fairfield, one of the six Republicans trying to unseat Malloy, said Democrats are drawing false hope from an issue that polls well, but carries risk of a business backlash in a state still struggling to recover from the 2008 recession. Republicans had the power to delay a vote, but they said they welcomed the debate and a chance to directly engage the governor. ‘I already know his playbook. We’ve already seen it play out over the last couple of weeks,’ McKinney said. ‘The statements he’s made about lifting people out of poverty are inconsistent with someone who has raised their taxes dramatically.’” [CT Mirror, 3/26/14]

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