(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania lawmakers appear to agree that the state’s $7.25 minimum wage is old-fashioned, but the details of how far and how quickly to raise it are up for debate when the House-passed bill heads to the Senate.
Democrats say it’s time to do the right thing, while Republicans say the bill doesn’t protect the wages of tipped workers, so they suggest finding a middle ground.
Supporters cite the fact that Pennsylvania’s minimum wage has not increased since 2009, when it adopted a federal enhance. They say this will put more money into citizens’ pockets and reduce the struggle to attract workers leaving for neighboring states at minimum hourly wages ranging from $15 to $17.
Critics warn the enhance could raise prices, reduce hours or the number of jobs and hit lower-wage parts of the state harder.
Governor Josh Shapiro Urges Senate confirmation House Bill 2189sponsored by Rep. Jason Dawkins (Philadelphia), which approved the House last month by a 104-95 majority. It would raise the state minimum wage from $7.25 to $11 in 2027, $13 in 2028 and $15 in 2029, and then index it to inflation. It would also allow counties to act more quickly, as long as the amount does not exceed $15 – which Dawkins characterized as an attempt to give Senate Republicans an option.
Shapiro says more than that half a million Pennsylvanians earn less than $15 an hour, and the purchasing power of the current minimum wage has declined by more than 30% since 2009. Raising wages, he said, would lend a hand people get off public assistance and save millions in Medicaid costs.
A study by the nonprofit Employment Policy Institute (EPI) shows that implementing a $15 minimum wage in Pennsylvania could cost the state almost 86,000 jobs.
In a statement emailed to The Center Square: Rebecca PaxtonEPI’s research director, said the recent vote ignores the “well-documented harmful consequences” of economists’ wage increases and the proposal would worsen inflation for Pennsylvania workers and residents.
“Economists have found,” Paxton said, “The ‘Fight for $15’ has backfired on workers – especially those just entering the workforce. “Pennsylvania will not be immune to these consequences, which ripple across the country.”
They say the proposed raise could put one in four tipped restaurant workers out of work, and say decades of economic research show that each dollar of wage enhance could trigger price increases up to 5.5%.
Estimates according to Pennsylvania Independent Revenue Service argue that raising the state minimum wage to $11 an hour will likely have no impact on overall employment levels or wage rates for cashiers, retail clerks, swift food and counter workers because their data shows that the effective market wage is already at that level.
“My mission has been to ensure a living wage for all working Pennsylvanians, and the House’s passage of this bill is a huge step forward in achieving that mission,” Dawkins said. “If you work hard, you shouldn’t have to worry about your next meal or having a roof over your head. Pennsylvania needs a minimum wage that works for everyone, not only to survive, but to thrive in our state.”
