Pittsburgh, March 25, 2026 – Today, State Senator Wayne Fontana released the following statement regarding the Pennsylvania House of Representatives vote to raise the commonwealth’s $7.25 per hour minimum wage:
“I’m glad the AP House is once again passing legislation to raise the minimum wage because Pennsylvania has had the lowest minimum wage in the country for far too long.
Working Pennsylvanians earning the minimum wage have not seen an raise in 17 years, even as every state around us has repeatedly raised its minimum wage.
It is time for Republican senators to stop petty politics and actually do something to lend a hand working people by making it possible to vote to raise the minimum wage as soon as possible.”
House Bill 2189 increases the state minimum wage to $11 an hour in 2027, to $13 an hour in 2028 and to $15 an hour in 2029. Starting in 2030, the wage will be indexed for inflation.
Nearly 600,000 working Pennsylvanians currently earn less than $15 an hour. Making Pennsylvania’s minimum wage competitive with neighboring states would also save taxpayers about $300 million a year through less reliance on food stamps, Medicaid and other welfare programs.
The bill passed on March 24 by a bipartisan vote of 104 to 95 and now heads to the Pennsylvania Senate for consideration. This is the third year in a row that the House of Representatives has passed legislation to raise the state’s minimum wage. Republican leaders in the Senate refused to allow a vote.
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Senator Fontana’s statement on the AP House passing the minimum wage bill appeared first in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate.
