Is Pa. Finally Going to Increase Minimum Wage? Don't Hold Your Breath

Spotlight reports that the Democratic Pa. House has passed a bill that would increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour over a period of time. From there is will move to the Republican Pa. Senate, where I expect it to wither on the vine. 

This has happened before, when a then Democratic Pa. Senate adopted a minimum wage increase that died in the Republican Pa House. 

Pa.'s minimum wage is $7.25, which also happens to be the federal minimum wage. 

Should We Raise the $7.25/ Hr Minimum Wage in Pa and Federally?

Over the weekend, Presidential candidate Donald Trump paid a brief visit to a McDonalds here in Pa., handing out fries to preselected customers. Being surrounded by all that fast food must have put him in a good mood because he even wished Kamala Harris a Happy Birthday and said he wouldn't mind doing it again. But he ducked a question on whether he'd support an incrase in the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15. 

Harris has called for an increase. ""The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which means that the person who is working a full day and full weeks will make $15,000 a year, which is essentially poverty wages," she said at a campaign stop in Michigan.

Republicans and Trump want to brand themselves as standing up for the forgotten working class. But it is actually Republicans who have opposed attempted increases while Democrats trip over themselves searching for the right pronouns to use.  

Isn't it time to raise the $7.25 minimum wage? It's been in place for 15 years. 

Pa. State House Votes For Increase in Minimum Wage, 103-100

A divided state house voted 103-100 to increase the state minimum wage yesterday.

This legislation would increase the minimum wage in Pennsylvania to:

$11.00 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2024.
$13.00 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2025.
$15.00 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2026.

There would be annual cost-of-living increases beginning in 2027. The bill would also set the minimum wage for tipped workers at 60% of the hourly minimum wage – which has been stuck at $2.83 per hour since the 20th century.

Locally, the legislation was supported by Democrats Bob Freeman, Jeanne McNeill, Steve Samuelson, Mike Schlossberg, Joshua Siegel and Pete Schweyer. It was opposed by Republicans Ryan MacKenzie, Milou MacKenzie, Zach Mako, Ann Flood and Joe Emrick. 

Will the Republican-controlled state senate follow suit?

Unlikely.

232 NorCo Employees Paid Under $15/HR

Not long ago, I told you 17 of Northampton County's custodial workers are paid less than $15/Hr. I have since learned, in response to a Right-to-Know request, that 232 full-time county workers are paid under $15/hr. Another 163 part-time or seasonal employees are also paid less than the US House has determined American workers are worth. This is roughly 18% of the County's workforce. While Northampton County construction contracts require prevailing wage to be paid, and Council members moan about the need for a living wage, they appear to have no regard for their own workforce.

The list, which you can review for yourself below, covers numerous important jobs. These include over 50 certified nurse's aides at Gracedale, social workers and numerous clerks in the row offices. The County justifies these save wages because it pays $9.62 per hour for benefits for every full-time worker. That's unfair, too. This is because the county pays this same amount for everyone. Employees who earn far more money and who could and should pay more for benefits get the same hourly rate as someone receiving a pittance. In effect, the lower paid employees subsidize the benefits paid for cabinet officials.

In Columbus, Ohio, Mayor Andrew Ginther announced this week that his entire workforce is now being paid at least $15/hr. He said Columbus should "lead by example." City Council President Elizabeth Brown adds, "Leveling the playing field for families in Columbus starts with living wages, and one of our goals as an employer must be to set a standard for wages and benefits that help families thrive. I’m proud to see the city beat its commitment to bringing all full-time workers to $15-per-hour by 2020."

Closer to home, both Pittsburgh and Allegheny County are on track to pay their workforce at least $15/hr by the beginning of next year. But Northampton County Council, despite having two trade union agents as members, seems to be more interested in plastic straw bans.

Many, if not most, of the Northampton County workers getting paid under $15/hr are single parents. The living wage in Northampton County for a single parent with just one child is $23.93.

According to Keystone Research, 42% of those paid under $15/hr are over the age of 40. Over half (55%) are women.

NorCo FT Jobs Under $15/Hr by BernieOHare on Scribd

Minimum Wage Increase Would be Raise to 65,000 LV Workers

From CACLV: - The Keystone Research Center today announced the release of a new report showing the impact of increasing the Pennsylvania minimum wage from $7.25 to at least $10.10. They studied the impact on all 67 PA counties. A $10.10 minimum wage would give 65,382 workers a raise in the Lehigh Valley and boost the state's sluggish economy, according to the report. For Lehigh County, a boost in the wages of 35,582 workers would increase total wages by $52.1 million; in Northampton County, increased wages of 29,800 would increase total wages by $43.3 million.

In the region, which includes Carbon County, women working who would be affected by an increase to $10.10 per hour outnumber men. Consistent with state averages, the typical worker in Lehigh and Northampton counties who would get a raise is an adult, over the age of 20, working full-time.

"When workers can pay their bills, the whole economy thrives: the landlord hires contractors, the contractors go out to dinner, and the servers buy clothes. It's time we realized we really are all in this together," said Alan Jennings, executive director of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley.

While workers in several industries call for $15 an hour and the right to join a union, advocates say that the state should ensure that every worker in Pennsylvania makes at least $10.10 an hour.

The advocates called on state lawmakers to increase the minimum wage to at least $10.10 for all workers, including tipped workers, and tie the rate to inflation, as well as increase the fines for employers who commit wage theft against their employees and strengthen enforcement efforts.

Across the state, wages are so low that hundreds of thousands of workers are living in poverty. In the Lehigh Valley, more than 1 in 5 homeless heads of households are working. These low wages are not just so low they result in hunger and homelessness, but they are stalling our economy and hurting communities. It's time to update the wage floor so people can meet their basic needs, like food, medical care, and gas.

Increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 would give over 1.2 million Pennsylvania workers a raise, according to the Keystone Research Center. It would put nearly $2 billion into the state's economy. The benefits would be felt throughout Pennsylvania, with nearly one in four workers in the state's 48 rural counties and more than 700,000 workers, or 18 percent, in the state's urban counties getting an increase in wages. In addition, more than 200,000 people in each of Philadelphia and Allegheny counties would get a boost.

"More than 80 percent of workers who would get a raise by increasing the minimum wage to at least $10.10 are adults age 20 and older, not affluent teens with after-school jobs" said Mark Price, an economist with the Keystone Research Center. "Raising the minimum wage would also help close the wage gap between women and men -- nearly six-in-ten workers who would get a boost in pay are women, including thousands of single moms."

The PA minimum wage has not been raised since 2007, which is stalling our economy and harming communities. Today, a person working full-time making the minimum wage has an annual income of only $15,080, which is below the poverty line for a family of two. To make matters worse, the wage floor has not kept up with the rise in consumer prices. As a result, the minimum wage is 23 percent lower today than it was in 1968.

Compared to other states, minimum wage workers in Pennsylvania are falling behind. Already 29 states have increased their minimum wage above the federal government wage floor of $7.25, including all of our neighboring states, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia and Maryland.

"No one working full-time should have to live in poverty or rely on emergency food pantries to feed their family," said Janet Ney, of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania.

"Rigorous research over the past 20 years has proven that raising the minimum wage boosts workers' pay and their purchasing power without causing job losses," said Price. "Raising the minimum wage puts money in people's pockets which they then turn around and spend in the local economy."

The failure of employers to pay fair wages is creating stress on working families and forcing taxpayers to subsidize corporate profits through increased costs for social programs. Wages for low wage workers in Pennsylvania and nationally have stagnated in the past six years. Lower waged Pennsylvania workers have lost $.24 per hour or 3% relative to inflation since the last increase in the minimum wage in 2009.

"The hardworking people who serve our food, clean our hotels and care for our children deserve a raise," said John Dodds, of the Philadelphia Unemployment Project. "Working families are the engine of our economy, but they haven't received a raise since before the Great Recession. It's time to do the right thing by raising the incomes of 1.2 million Pennsylvania workers, which will boost our economy and strengthen local communities."

Saucon Source: Giant to Start Paying $9/Hr

According to Josh Popichak's report, this new starting wage will take effect in June. The current state and federal minimum wage is $7.25. Governor Wolf supports a bill that would increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

Locally, that bill has the support of Steve Samuelson, Mike Schlossberg, Dan McNeill, Peter Schweyer and Bob Freeman. It appears to have no support among Republicans.

Charlie Dent: Minimum Wage Rubber Stamp

Congressional wannabe Sam Bennett has sure kept me busy this week. On Monday, her office slammed Congressman Charlie Dent for going to Washington, apparently for a secret meeting with Evil Big Oil. But for some reason, instead of being in D.C., Dent was actually in Northampton on Wednesday night to attend a candidates' night that Bennett missed.

Maybe Big Oil gave him the night off.

After her Monday news release, Bennett conducted a Wednesday news conference with the MSM as well as two indie bloggers. Now, her office has just issued another news release.

This time, Dent is slammed because some people who give him money are pretty rich. "The $13 million-a-year CEO of Air Products, John P. Jones, and $5 million-a-year CEO of PPL, James H. Miller, each give Congressman Charles Dent thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman and former CEO of Mack Trucks, Paul Vickner, which will cut hundreds of Lehigh Valley jobs, will still cut checks of thousands of dollars to Charles Dent."

After noting all the rich guys and, oh yeah, Big Oil, we are told that "Dent repreatedly [sic] votes against the interests of workers and for the benefit of ultra rich executives and Washington lobbyists whose money Dent refuses to return."

The news release goes on to claim that Dent votes against things like the minimum wage (Vote #319, HR 5672, 6/27/06). Bennett stands for working families while Charlie stands for gazillionaires and, oh yeah, Big Oil.

There's just one problem with Bennett's press release - the same one as with her Monday missive.

They're both wrong.

Shawn Millan, Congressman Dent's campaign guru, points out that Charlie actually voted for three of four bills that would raise the minimum wage. "He’s a minimum wage raising rubberstamp," quips Millan.

Dent voted for the Bill (Public law 110-28) finally enacted as well as the Fair Minimum Wage Law of 2007. He also voted for an increase in 2006. In fact, he is one of thirty Republicans who, on July 26, 2006, sent a letter to their leader opposing a resolution to adjourn until the minimum wage issue was brought to a vote.

Sink me, but it sounds like Dent actually supported the minimum wage increase.

Don't tell Big Oil.

Photo Credit: Austin Chronicle