Coakley Calls For Raising Minimum Wage

At a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce event Thursday morning, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Martha Coakley advocated for a hike in the state's minimum wage, calling it a "matter of fairness."

The attorney general said the money spent raising the state's $8 per hour minimum wage would go right back into the economy.

"The people who are working with a small salary now who get a minimum wage increase, that goes to food and clothing and rent and all the things that will help turn this economy around," Coakley said. "They don't hoard it, because believe me, they can't."

Last November, the state Senate voted to raise the minimum wage to $11 per hour by 2016 and tie subsequent increases to inflation. The House has yet to take up the bill.

Much of Coakley's remarks served as a stump speech for her campaign. She also argued for better education options and creating a business-friendly climate in Massachusetts.

Fellow Democratic candidates for governor Don Berwick, Juliette Kayyem, Joe Avellone and Steve Grossman — who will address the Chamber in March — also support raising the minimum wage.