Poll Finds Strong Support for $15 Minimum Wage in New York

New York state voters strongly support Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s call to raise the minimum wage to $15, according to a poll released Thursday.

The Siena College survey found that 59 percent of respondents support an across-the-board $15 minimum wage, while 38 percent oppose it.

Earlier this month, Cuomo’s administration approved a plan to gradually raise the wage to $15 — but only for workers at large fast-food chain restaurants. The Democratic governor said he supports raising the wage for all workers to the same level over several years.

The wage is now $8.75 and is set to rise to $9 at year’s end.

Support for the $15 minimum was highest among voters in the New York City metropolitan area, Democrats and female voters. Nearly two-thirds of Republican respondents were opposed.

“There is strong overall support from voters for the governor’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15,” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg. “However, there are wide partisan and geographic differences.”

The Sept. 14-17 telephone survey included 817 registered voters from around the state. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.