The minimum wage in Texas is $ 7.25 an hour and Democratic lawmakers want to raise it to $ 15

HOUSTON – Despite being a minority, the Democratic congressmen in Texas believe that driving the increase in the state minimum wage through various legislative proposals is a battle that they must face to protect the less favored classes of the state that have been the hardest hit by the health crisis.

In the legislative session 87 that began at the beginning of January, several preliminary projects have been presented that intend to increase the minimum wage of $ 7. 25 dollars per hour that remains unchanged since 2009.

The HB 731, of Congresswoman Jessica González (D-Dallas ), and the HB 60, by Ron Reynolds (D- Fort Bend), propose that the employer pay you to each employee the amount of $ 15 dollars per hour , while Representative Leo Pacheo (D-San Antonio) suggests that the minimum wage increase to $ 12 dollars per hour (HB 383).

Rafael Anchía ( D-Dallas), state representative for 16 years and president of the group of Hispanic legislators in Texas, assures that the efforts to increase the minimum wage will mostly benefit the so-called essential workers.

“But, curiously, the Republican majority has always been against an increase in that nature by offering the theory that it would reduce the number of jobs because it would generate less income, “said Anchía in an interview with Efe.

Although Anchía admits that he sees him more possibilities at the federal level for the Democratic control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, believes that the discussion at the state level is “necessary” and more so because of the pandemic.

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Conservatives against raising the minimum wage

But the theory of Anchía and the Democratic caucus, which will stimulate the economy, is not well received by conservatives such as Orlando Sánchez, former Houston City Councilman, former Harris County treasurer and founder of the Texas Latino Conservatives Political Action Committee.

“Increasing the minimum wage at the national level is to control and manipulate the local economy of the states and their respective cities , and that has been precisely what the Democrats every time they win: increase salaries “, criticized Sánchez in an interview with Efe.

For the former public official, the free market has to absorb this increase and in this case it is the consumer who will be harmed. “The budgets of local governments would also have to undergo a modification by having to pay more to employees and that is summarized in the payment of more taxes by the taxpayer ”, emphasized Sánchez.

However, activist Cristina Tzintzún-Ramírez, who ran with no luck against Republican Senator John Cornyn in the last elections, insists that increase the salary minimum is an important step to recover the economy that is currently experiencing a delicate situation .

“And it will mean greater stability for families with fewer economic resources, especially the 60% of Latinos and African Americans, who before the COVID pandemic – 19 earned less than 15 dollars per hour, ”said Tzintzún-Ramírez.

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Small businesswoman is not in favor of the increase

But the Democratic proposal to increase the minimum wage worries some small entrepreneurs, such as the Colombian Jhoanna Gomez, who came to Houston from the state of Florida four years ago due to the low costs of setting up her own beauty salon in Texas.

Gómez understands that the minimum wage should give a certain quality to a person in the city you live in, but based on cost of living.

“Therefore, living in Houston is not the same as living in New York City, because one is more expensive to live in than the other,” says Gómez, whose fear is that by increasing the minimum wage Or, the same is true for the fuel, groceries, and chemicals she uses in her business.

“ We also don’t want our city to be expensive. Businesses like ours have suffered enough by being closed for several months due to the pandemic. ”