Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Live on every newscast, Malloy signs $10.10 minimum wage bill

  • Money
  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • March 27, 2014
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signs the minimum wage bill into law.

CT Mirror

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signs the minimum wage bill into law at Cafe Beauregard. At right is Chef Rob Chiovoloni and his wife, Alice Bruno.

New Britain — Precisely timed to attract live coverage Thursday at the top of three local 6 o’clock newscasts, a jubilant Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed into law a bill that makes Connecticut the first state to embrace President Obama’s goal of a $10.10 minimum wage.

“It is done,” Malloy said, as he finished signing a bill that sped through both chambers of the General Assembly the previous day, a victory that resonated nationally for a Democratic Party eager to focus voters on pocketbook issues in the mid-term elections. “We proved that it can be done.”

Malloy signed the bill in the cramped dining room at Cafe Beauregard where he and three other New England governors dined with Obama three weeks ago before a minimum-wage rally across town at Central Connecticut State University in a gym packed with 3,000 people.

“What we want to make sure is that men and women in our state who work 40 hours a week do not live in poverty and have the opportunity to raise their families as we ourselves would want to raise our own,” Malloy said.

The new law raises the state’s $8.70 minimum wage, already the second-highest in New England and fourth-highest nationally, on Jan. 1 in each of the next three years to $9.15 in 2015, $9.60 in 2016 and $10.10 in 2017.

“Connecticut has put the marker down. Other states will follow,” said Malloy, who was congratulated by Vice President Joe Biden in a phone call before the bill signing. “We’re going to get the job done.”

Malloy, 58, a first-term Democrat facing re-election, began speaking at 6:02 p.m., just as a press aide, Andrew Doba, signaled that the cameras had gone live, an immediate dividend for a governor who has yet to break 50 percent in any key polling measure.

Poster-sized black-and-white photos, one of Malloy and another of Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, were on display, giving the ceremony the vibe of a campaign event. Chef Rob Chiovoloni, who served Malloy soup three weeks ago, but forgot his sandwich order, greeted guests who crowded into the small eatery and bakery on Main Street.

Chiovoloni, who lives in town with his wife, Alice Bruno, the former executive director of the Connecticut Bar Association, pays his employees above minimum wage and supports raising the state and federal minimums, the key qualifications that made him presidential chef-for-a-day.

The freshly passed bill was served to the governor on a white cloth-covered table. Malloy sat down and began writing his signature in a few letters at a time, each with a fresh pen that became a souvenir for some of the assembled legislators and activists, including the executive director of the Connecticut Working Families Party.

Malloy, who was cross-endorsed by the Working Families, won by just 6,404 votes in 2010. Without the votes he garnered on the minor-party line, he would have lost.

“I want to thank Gov. Malloy, who spearheaded this,” Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, told the crowd after the last of the pens were handed out. “We proved that it can be done.”

The bill was the first of the 2014 session signed into law.

Christopher G. Donovan, the former House speaker whose 2012 run for congress was derailed by the arrests of two aides in a campaign finance scandal, was in the back of the audience. Over his career, he often prodded the less enthusiastic — on one occasion a few years ago the group included Malloy and Williams — to consider a higher minimum wage.

“I always supported a higher minimum wage. You do wonder if it will continue after you are gone,” said Donovan, who was greeted by Malloy as the governor arrived. “I’m thrilled.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
With billions in federal relief on the way to CT, legislators assert their role in deciding how to spend it
by Keith M. Phaneuf and Mark Pazniokas

With an unusual bill, state legislators are reminding Gov. Ned Lamont they have significant role in disbursing federal coronavirus relief.

Rep. Patricia Billie Miller wins vacant Senate seat
by Mark Pazniokas

Rep. Patricia Billie Miller, D-Stamford, won a special election to the state Senate.

CT hasn’t started collecting new payroll tax from state workers
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Connecticut established a new payroll tax surcharge on Jan. 1 but still isn't deducting it from state workers' paychecks.

Lamont’s budget offers another round of tax amnesty
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposal waives penalties and caps interest at 3% over each of the next two fiscal years.

Final passage of ‘Crown Act’ comes on unanimous vote
by Mark Pazniokas

With a unanimous vote, Connecticut became the latest state to adopt legislation prohibiting discrimination based on hairstyles associated with race.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The Board of Regents’ changes must not shortchange its students or faculty
by Carrie Andreoletti, PhD

As a university professor and a lifespan developmental psychologist, I tend to approach my work from a developmental perspective. This means I aim to foster a lifelong love of learning and to help others find a sense of meaning and purpose, as well as confidence in their ability to reach their goals. My approach to higher education is shaped by my desire to provide the best possible education for my students. This is why the recent Board of Regents’ proposed changes at the four state universities have me worried.

Opinion How to close schooling opportunity gaps created by the pandemic
by Carol Gale

We ask school district leaders to trust your public servants whose daily work life involves assessing student needs and planning or modifying instruction to meet those needs. Listen to their voices, as we have, and allocate precious resources on interventions that will offer increased opportunities for Hartford students to succeed.

Opinion A new guide for schools: How to work with families this spring
by Michael Arrington and Erika Haynes

With months of remote and hybrid learning to go, families and educators continue to adapt and innovate to meet the moment. Since August, we’ve spoken with hundreds of parents, caregivers, family support groups, educators, and students across Connecticut and the country about things things that have worked --strategies, big and small, that have made this time more manageable and helped children learn and stay connected with peers.

Opinion Housing is a human right
by Tenaya Taylor

Nonprofit Accountability Group is a queer- and trans-led group based in Hartford that is dedicated to creating racial equity by directing resources to Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and disabled children and families. NAG was founded in 2020 as an organization with a transformative approach to implementing nonprofit accountability by creating relationships within the community, nonprofits, and their funders.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO