By Stevie LaBelle | Assistant Editor
As of January 1st, 2016 the minimum wage in Massachusetts was increased to $10.00 an hour. This increased the wage for Mount Wachusett Community College students whom are employed as work study positions within the college.
This wage increase is the second step in a three part plan put into action by Deval Patrick in a law signed on June 26th, 2014. The first step was enacted on January 1st, 2015 with an increase to $9.00 an hour. The minimum wage is set to increase once more on January 1st, 2017 to the amount of $11.00 an hour.
Are these increases enough to make an impact for the students who depend on these wages to help them survive while pursuing their education? According to one work study student at MWCC it is a sign of progress, but not one direct enough for a complete impact. According to Hilary Nina, a Liberal Arts and Sciences: Biological Sciences Track student in her second year at the Mount, “I think it definitely helps, however no student could live off work study alone.”
Overall Nina feels like the Mount goes up and beyond to aid its students with providing employment opportunities for them to take advantage of while they are currently students, “I think our school is doing as much as it can in terms of availability of different jobs whether through the school or through work study.”
Some have raised fears that there will be a cut in number of work study placements in order to balance out with the increase of minimum wage. Another work study student at the Mount, Nathan Morris, a Business major in his third year at the Mount, expressed some of these concerns “Yes, it’s great for us students with the work study jobs already, but the amount of work study opportunities may decrease.”
Another valid concern in regards to the increases in minimum wage is the impact it will have on living expenses. Morris feels that in the short term the wage increases will be a more livable wage for students, however in the long term he feels that “living expenses will just go up due to the increased wage.” Only time will tell what the impact will be resulting from the set increases for Massachusetts minimum wages.
Comments are closed.