Speaker-elect Craig Coughlin (D-19) threw the incipient weight of his office behind a minimum wage raise at a press event in Trenton today along with Governor-elect Phil Murphy and other lawmakers.

By phasing it in the legislature can be assured of a “fair and balanced” hike, the speaker-elect said.

“I want to commend Congressman Norcross for his great work on this,” stated Coughlin, at a statehouse event with Norcross, Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3), and members of 32BJ SEIU.

To see the video highlighting Coughlin’s comments, watch here.

“There has never been a question as to whether I will sign a minimum wage increase. This has been a top priority for me from the very beginning,” said Murphy. “It is antithetical to our values that we allow anyone who works 40 hours a week to earn a poverty-level wage. I reject the ‘us versus them’ mentality that says we can either have jobs or good wages, but not both. We can do both, and we must.”

“A $15 minimum wage would give hourly workers an improved pay scale so they can keep pace with the cost of living and support themselves and their families,” said Sweeney, who sponsored a $15 wage bill last year that was vetoed by the governor as well as the prior two minimum wage increases in New Jersey. “We now have the opportunity to put New Jersey in the forefront with a plan that will provide workers with a fair wage that will climb to $15 an hour. It is the right thing to do for working people and it is the smart thing to do for the economy. The higher earnings will act as an economic stimulus because the money will go directly into the economy.”

New Jersey Policy Perspective Policy Analyst Brandon McKoy argued that 1 in 4 New Jersey workers would benefit from a gradual minimum wage increase to $15 an hour.

“A $15 minimum wage is central to getting New Jersey’s economy back on track, and it’s great to see some of our most influential elected officials strongly supporting it,” McKoy said. “While opponents continue to peddle in misinformation and anecdotes, the fact is we’ve seen the positive impact of minimum wage increases across the country and it’s far past time for New Jersey to raise the wage for the good of our workforce and economy.”