JUNEAU, Alaska, Jan. 16, 2014—Results from annual survey of its Alaska members released today by the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s largest small-business association, showed strong opposition to raising the state’s minimum-wage rate.
“It should come as no surprise that Alaska small-business owners oppose raising the minimum wage, because they understand how detrimental it really is to job-creation and young employees,” said Denny DeWitt, Alaska state director for NFIB. “Big corporations do not have to absorb the cost of minimum wage increases because most minimum-wage jobs are offered by small businesses. The real tragedy in raising the minimum wage is what happens to people with low skills: Fewer jobs. And for teens starting up the ladder of their wage-earning life, raising the minimum wage removes their first rung. All the research points to the negative effects of raising the minimum wage, but most politicians have boosted their poll numbers peddling the lie that it alleviates poverty or helps the middle class.” (See more on the minimum wage below)
Every year the National Federation of Independent Business polls its members on state and national issues vital to their ability to own, operate and grow their enterprises. Results from the poll center NFIB’s lobbying positions in Washington, D.C. and in Juneau. NFIB has 2,000 members in Alaska and releases its annual results after a statistically valid sample is reached. The 2014 NFIB State Member Ballot asked four questions:
Should Alaska increase its minimum wage to $8.75 per hour effective January 1, 2015, $9.75 per hour effective January 1, 2016, and thereafter adjust it annually for inflation?
Yes 33 percent
No 60 percent
Und. 7 percent
Should holders of unclaimed property be able to notify the last known owner by certified mail rather than registered mail?
Yes 57 percent
No 21 percent
Und. 22 percent
Should Alaska implement a parental leave policy that would provide employees with additional time off to attend their children’s school activities and meetings?
Yes 17 percent
No 75 percent
Und. 8 percent
Should NFIB support reforms that require labor unions to get annual written permission from each union member prior to using a portion of their dues for political activities?
Yes 90 percent
No 7 percent
Und. 3 percent
For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
More on the Minimum Wage
- NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg in Forbes magazine
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
