HAGATNA, Guam — Hundreds of Guam government employees are among the thousands of workers who stand to earn more under a proposed minimum wage hike.
Legislature Vice Speaker Benjamin Cruz introduced the measure, Bill 316. It would raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 over three years.
The Pacific Daily News reports that costs for public schools would rise by at least $600,000 a year, to bring lower-paid employees up to the new minimum. Over the three years 442 employees in the Department of Education and 142 workers in executive branch agencies would benefit from the raise.
The bill doesn’t include a financial impact statement, so its full costs are not clear. Cruz estimates the raise would affect 23,000 people island-wide, mostly in the private sector. Businesses have opposed the measure.