Minimum Wage Hike Not Dead: Speaker Oliver

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver says her bill increasing the minimum wage isn’t dead.

The speaker in a statement tells The Associated Press she hopes to reach a compromise with Gov. Chris Christie.

The Republican governor told a town hall audience on Thursday that he would veto the bill hiking the minimum wage by $1.25 to $8.50 per hour.

Christie objects to a provision of the bill that allows yearly minimum wage adjustments based on the economic data in the Consumer Price Index.

Oliver says Christie recognizes that minimum wage-earning families need help making ends meet.

The bill would mean a $50 weekly raise for a full-time minimum wage-earner who now makes $290.

Business groups oppose the legislation.

It has passed in the Assembly and is pending in the Senate.