Special Edition E-news: Minimum Wage Increase Passes PA Senate
A minimum wage increase has passed in the Senate. We agreed to a wage rate of $9.50 by 1 January 2022. Approval in the State House is the next step and onto Governor Wolf.
Raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour has been my number one priority since taking office in 2015. The Senate’s passage of this legislative measure is significant both in my district and statewide.
The wage would increase to $8 an hour 1 July 2020 and increase by fifty cents every six months afterward until it reaches $9.50 by 1 January 2022.
A wage increase from $7.25 to $9.50 means a $4,680 raise for workers. It will bring a family of two out of poverty and benefit 572,235 people overall. In addition, Pennsylvania will save $31 million in public assistance. That is some progress.
Despite this increase in the minimum wage rate, it is not enough. We still need to:
- Raise the pay of restaurant workers receiving tipped wages,
- Automatically increase the minimum wage annually with inflation; and
- Eliminate the ban on cities from increasing their own minimum wage
For over a decade, the Commonwealth allowed its workers to continue receiving poverty wages, while surrounding states increased their minimum wage rates.
We are moving forward, but there is more to be done to help struggling Pennsylvanians. I will continue to be a leading advocate to raise the wage to $15 an hour in Pennsylvania.
Be the Light,
Art Haywood
State Senator
4th District
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