Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley joined U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez at a Bethesda burrito restaurant Thursday afternoon and called for a raise of the national minimum wage.
The two officials were greeted by County Executive Ike Leggett and all three made burritos at Boloco, a regional chain restaurant, on Elm Street.
O’Malley said Boloco pays their workers an average of $11.53 per hour, well above the national minimum wage of $7.25.
“This is a great company and this company understands that it’s good for their business to do right by their employees,” said O’Malley. “Nothing is the same price as it was 15 years ago, so from time to time we raise the minimum wage because we know it’s good for our country.”
O’Malley signed legislation this year that will raise the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2018. O’Malley called the bill a legislative compromise, saying he’d like the raise to happen sooner and be higher. However, the bill enabled local jurisdictions to set its own minimum wage and Leggett highlighted the fact that Montgomery County will raise its minimum wage to $11.50 by 2017.
Perez pointed to the state and county as a leader on the issue.
“I want to say thank you and applaud the efforts of the governor and county executive on minimum wage,” Perez said. “I wish we had the same sense of commitment among the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives as we’ve seen in state and local governments across the country.”
He also asked that local residents support businesses that pay their employees more than the current minimum wage.
“For those of you who live in this area, when you’re walking by, I hope you vote with your feet,” Perez said. “I hope when you walk by a restaurant you’ll ask, ‘how do you treat your employees and I want to make sure you treat them well.’”
O’Malley Addresses Redskins Name
After the minimum wage press conference, O’Malley was also asked about the Redskins name. On Monday the governor said in a television interview, “I think it probably is time for the Redskins to change their name.”
On Thursday, he talked more about why.
“I’m a big Redskins fan, I love the Redskins,” O’Malley said. “I grew up in this area, rooted for Sonny Jurgenson… But time goes on, people have become more understanding and considerate of one another and if certain names that were used traditionally in the past, that we’re aware of hurt and offend others then we should evolve and reflect that.”
