Biden pushes minimum wage increase in Vegas stop

Vice President Joe Biden on Monday used a lively Mexican restaurant in downtown Las Vegas as a backdrop to make a pitch for raising the national minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

The current federal rate is $7.25 and in Nevada $8.25 if a company doesn’t provide health care coverage. Biden said raising the minimum wage would not cost jobs and would pump $19 billion into the economy.

“All of this is disposable income, and it gets straight into the economy,” Biden said.

The vice president also noted that 28 percent of people making minimum wage are Hispanics.

“It’s about time we do something,” Biden said. “Minimum wage hasn’t kept up.”

Although it was an official event, Biden’s brief stop in Las Vegas, more than two hours, also is a reminder for Democrats to turn out at the polls with early voting starting in less than two weeks on Oct. 18 and the Nov. 4 election four weeks away.

Several hot races could hinge on turnout, especially among Latinos, who make up about 17 percent of the electorate. Democrats have 62,525 more registered voters statewide than Republicans. But the GOP generally has a higher turnout rate in mid-term elections.

The races to watch include lieutenant governor between front-runner state Sen. Mark Hutchison, R-Las Vegas, and Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, D-Las Vegas. Democrat Erin Bilbray is pinning her hopes on a robust Democratic turnout, too, in her uphill bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev. And three competitive Senate seats at stake will decide whether Democrats hang onto their 11-10 seat advantage or whether Republicans take control.

Choosing a low-key location, Biden led a lunchtime roundtable discussion on the minimum wage at Casa Don Juan, a Las Vegas restaurant that offers Mexican fare, including enchiladas and burritos. It’s decorated in bright colors — orange and yellow painted walls with historical photographs covering just about every inch.

Biden chatted with Raul Gil, general manager of the restaurant; Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman; U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev.; Louisa Mendoza, owner of Keep it Clean Janitorial; and Javiar Barajas, owner of Lindo Michoacan restaurant.

It was a friendly audience, but two of the small-business owners expressed concern about how raising the minimum wage might affect their bottom lines.

“Right now it’s very hard for small businesses to make it,” said Barajas, who noted employees also make tips.

Tipped employees still must be paid minimum wage, but the federal minimum is $2.13 per hour, so employers must make up the difference, according to federal law.

Biden said tipped workers are long overdue for a raise as well. Under Obama’s proposal, the minimum wage for tipped employees would rise to more than $7 per hour. Biden said 70 percent of tipped employees are women.

“There isn’t any reason why anybody should be working 40 and making $14,500 a year,” Biden said. “That’s $7,000 below the poverty level. This is good for business. It’s good for the economy. It’s good for people.”

Las Vegas was Biden’s first stop in a six-city trip to the West, where he will talk up the Obama administration’s work on the economy and raise money for Democrats.

His time in Las Vegas was short, as he was scheduled to appear later in the afternoon at a fundraiser in Los Angeles for Rep. Bruce Braley, a Democrat running for Senate from Iowa.

Raising the minimum wage is a winner with the Democratic base. President Barack Obama already has applied the $10.10 minimum to federal contract workers, but Congress has stalled on broadening the wage to the private sector.

On Monday evening, Biden was raising money for House Democrats at a $2,500 per person cocktail party at the home of Jim Gianopulous, chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment, where Carole King was to perform.

Today, Biden will take part in a minimum wage roundtable with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, before heading to Bakersfield to raise money for local Democrats.

On Thursday, Biden is scheduled to be in Seattle, where he similarly will speak on the economy and attend a fundraiser organized by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., for herself and three other Democratic women running for Senate re-election — Mary Landrieu of New Orleans, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow @lmyerslvrj on Twitter. Stephens Media Washington Bureau Chief Steven Tetreault contributed to this report.