In the House of Representatives Democratic Policy Committee During a hearing Wednesday, workers testified about the challenges of working in a state where the minimum wage has not changed since 2009.
“It’s more of a call to action,” state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie), the committee chairman, said at a hearing at SEIU Local 668 in Philadelphia. “We’ve been talking about this issue for many years.”
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which is the lowest rate allowed under current federal law and the lowest among the Keystone State’s neighboring states.
In June 2023 The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 103 to 100, which would gradually raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next three years, with subsequent annual increases tied to the Consumer Price Index.
The Republican-majority state Senate did not support the bill.
Minimum wage hike to $15 an hour passes Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Karim Jones, a home health care worker in Philadelphia and a member of the Pennsylvania Service Employees International Union (SEIU), testified that he provides home care for his brother but earns only $13 to $14 an hour and does not have any benefits, such as ill leave, health insurance, or family leave.
“Home care is important to me because taking care of my brother is important to me,” Jones said. “I feel like I’m at my best when I’m taking care of him, and I’m a lot closer to him because of the care.” He became emotional when talking about his brother, who Jones wants to make sure is ““lives a full and comfortable life.”
Jones said he has to supplement his income by taking on odd jobs, such as delivering for Instacart and hosting children’s parties, which makes it harder for him to care for his brother.
State Rep. Paul Friel (D-Chester) said Jones provides a great counterargument to Republicans who say those earning close to the minimum wage are just teenagers working odd jobs out of high school. Friel said there’s also an economic argument.
“I think it’s a good investment that’s actually better for taxpayers,” Friel added. “And it’s going to cost us much less in the long run in terms of better care and better conditions and care for our families and children.”
Bri Golphin is a 32-year-old barista who has worked in the restaurant industry since she was 18. She makes $12.50 an hour, has Medicaid, and another part-time job doing harm reduction.
“I’ve been a part of this fight for workers’ rights for at least a decade,” she said. “Ten years ago, we wanted a minimum wage of $15 an hour. That’s not feasible anymore. It has to be $18.”
State Rep. Roni Green (D-Philadelphia) is sponsoring legislation that raise the state’s minimum wage to $18 an hour and described the current minimum wage as a travesty.
“Republicans think $11 is all we’re worth,” Green said. “And we say no, we’re worth a lot more than $11.”
Golphin added that the tipping system common in the restaurant industry should disappear so that workers do not have to rely on tips they do not always receive.
State Rep. Nancy Guenst (D-Montgomery), who once worked in the restaurant industry as a single mother, agreed. “It was like pulling out your hair every day to get a decent tip,” Guenst said.
Mark Stierexecutive director of the Pennsylvania Policy Center, a progressive think tank in Harrisburg, said he took his first job as a baggage handler in 1968, when the minimum wage was $1.60 an hour.
“$1.60 in 1968, adjusted for inflation, would be $31.60 today,” Stier said. “That’s about what the minimum wage should be.”
Even more essential, Stier said, is Pennsylvania’s repeal of the preemption law that prevents local governments from raising the minimum wage above the state level.
“We should definitely allow counties to experiment with a higher minimum wage to suit local conditions,” Stier said.
“In my opinion, if the state took such action, all counties and some regions would take joint action and raise the minimum wage,” he added.
