Senator Tartaglione, Congressman Boyle to Brief News Media on Efforts to Raise Minimum Wage for PA and Nation

Senator Tartaglione will be joined by U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle of Philadelphia on Wednesday, January 27th, at 10 a.m. to brief the news media on their renewed efforts to raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation as lawmakers in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., commence their respective 2021-2022 legislative sessions.

The briefing will be held via Zoom, but the public is invited to watch live via www.SenatorTartaglione.com/Live or the senator’s Facebook page, “Senator Tina Tartaglione.”

On the state level, Senator Tartaglione has long been at the forefront of the fight to raise the minimum wage. In 2006, her successful legislation raised the rate from $5.15 an hour to $7.15. Pennsylvania’s General Assembly has not voted to raise the rate since then.

In 2009, Congress bumped the national rate up to $7.25 an hour. Senator Tartaglione has introduced new Minimum Wage legislation each session since then, but the Republican-led General Assembly has refused to adopt any of the Senator’s proposals.

Last month, in advance of the new session, the senator announced her intent to renew her effort to raise the state’s minimum wage to $12 this year to set the Commonwealth on course for a $15 rate. The senator’s legislation also addresses the issues of wage law enforcement, the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers, and the state law that prevents local governments from raising the minimum wage in their own jurisdictions. The senator’s new minimum wage legislation will be Senate Bill 12.

Congressman Boyle has also long-advocated for fair, family-sustaining wages. In 2019, he voted in favor of a $15 federal minimum wage as included in the Raise the Wage Act. The Republican-led U.S. Senate did not bring that legislation to a vote.

Senator Tartaglione Commemorates MLK Jr. Day of Service by Advocating for Low-Wage Workers and Economic Equality

Senator Tartaglione commemorated the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on January 18th by advocating for raising the minimum wage and advancing economic equality.

The senator joined POWER Interfaith Clergy for their MLK Action Day press conference, then co-hosted a Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on raising the minimum wage.

During the POWER event, Senator Tartaglione explained that raising the minimum wage is about advocating for the dignity of all workers, as well as their financial wellbeing.

“Dr. King once said, ‘All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence,’” Senator Tartaglione said. “Therefore, on this Day of Service dedicated to Dr. King, it is very fitting that we advocate for the dignity of all those who labor with painstaking excellence.”

“And when I say ‘dignity,’ I’m talking about their economic dignity, their access to the necessities of life ... and their access to the human comforts – even very modest comforts – that should be available to everyone in the world’s richest country.”

Senator Tartaglione was joined by Policy Committee Chairwoman Katie Muth and Senators Art Haywood and John Kane in co-hosting the committee hearing. The lawmakers heard from more than a dozen witnesses from the business, entrepreneurial, academic, advocacy, and labor communities. Almost all witnesses agreed that raising the minimum wage is a moral issue as well as an economic one.

And Pennsylvania continues to fall behind most other states, including all six of its immediate neighbors, as Republican leaders in the General Assembly delay and obstruct meaningful minimum wage legislation.

“As a result, one out of every eight Pennsylvanians is living in poverty and Philadelphia has become the poorest city among America’s 10 largest cities,” Senator Tartaglione said. “Our lowest-paid workers must take on two or even three jobs just to make ends meet, taking them away from their homes and their families.”

From an economic standpoint, witnesses testified that raising the minimum wage would help workers as well as employers. It would put more money in consumers’ pockets, money they will spend locally. It would also help businesses retain employees so they can focus on improving job performance and customer service.

PA Department of Labor Resumes Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Payments Under CARES Act Extension

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier announced on January 22nd that payments for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program in the new federal CARES Act extension are resuming.

“Since the federal legislation for the new CARES Act extension was unveiled, L&I's dedicated team has been working tirelessly to update our processing systems,” said Berrier. “We know that more than 400,000 Pennsylvanians and their families are relying on these PUA benefits to get through this terrible pandemic and have worked as quickly as possible to complete the implementation and resume payments.”

PUA assists workers who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and are not typically eligible for other unemployment compensation programs. This includes gig workers, freelancers, and self-employed workers. 

Important PUA program extension information for claimants follows.  

• You can begin filing for the additional 11 claim weeks today, January 22.
• Follow the same process as before to log onto your dashboard and claim the additional weeks, which will be added to your account.
• You must file by January 29. If you miss this deadline, you will need to email ucpua@pa.gov to request backdating.
• You will be able to file for the weeks of January 2; 9; 16; and 23.
• If you no longer had claim weeks or did not file for the week ending December 26, 2020, for any reason, you MUST REOPEN your claim before you can proceed. To do this, log onto your dashboard and click on the link to reopen a claim.
• If you tried to open a new claim while the PUA program was inactive, you will have error codes that the UC staff must fix before you can proceed. Please be patient while we work quickly to resolve your issue.
• If you are a new, first-time PUA claimant opening a claim in 2021, you cannot yet file. We are still adding 2020 as a base wage year in the system and will notify you when you are able to file for benefits.
• You will automatically receive the extra $300 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – you do not need to take any action to get this boost. 

Claimants who have questions about their enrollment in PUA should email ucpua@pa.gov.  

The original CARES Act programs, including Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), expired the end of December 2020. L&I is in the final stages of the PEUC implementation and will be providing an update to those claimants very soon.  

L&I Resources and Links for Claimants  

• Important Updates and News about the PUA Program
• Federal CARES Act
• Important L&I Updates Related to COVID-19
• Report Unemployment Fraud and Identity Theft
• 2020 Tax Forms for Claimants 

For information on unemployment programs, visit uc.pa.gov or follow L&I on Facebook or Twitter. Click here for the latest L&I news. 

Biden Remarks, Orders Support Fair Wages, Safe Workplaces, Timely Benefits for Nation’s Working Families

In the weeks and days leading up to his January 20th inauguration, President Joe Biden spoke directly of his support for raising the minimum wage and called upon Congress to enact a $15 minimum wage as part of his $1.9 trillion economic recovery plan.

In his first public remarks as President, Biden re-emphasized his commitment to advocating for American working families on fair wages, workplace safety, equality, healthcare, and education.

“With unity, we can do great things, important things,” Biden said in his inaugural address. “We can right wrongs. We can put people to work in good jobs. We can teach our children in safe schools. We can overcome the deadly virus. We can reward work, and rebuild the middle class and make healthcare secure for all. We can deliver racial justice and we can make America once again the leading force for good in the world.”

During his first days in office, the President issued executive orders to support the workers and businesses hardest hit by the pandemic, and to move toward a $15 minimum wage for federal government contractors.

“The president is issuing an Executive Order that will launch an all-of-government effort to provide equitable emergency economic relief to working families, communities, and small businesses across the nation,” the White House stated. “The actions taken as part of this effort will provide relief to millions of American workers who have lost their jobs and had their hours or wages slashed through no fault of their own.”

In the “all-of-government” effort, the president has:
• Asked the Department of Agriculture to expand and extend federal nutrition assistance programs;
• Asked the Treasury Department to modify its delivery structure with a focus on getting financial relief to Americans who have still not received the financial assistance to which they are entitled;
• Asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to pause federal collections on overpayments and debts;
• Asked the Department of Labor to clarify that workers who refuse unsafe working conditions due to COVID-19 can still receive unemployment benefits;
• Ordered the establishment of an interagency benefit coordination structure for the effective and equitable distribution of government assistance.

Separately, the President issued orders Protecting Worker Health and Safety, Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers, and Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery.

Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Rate Declines to 6.7% in December

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) has released its employment situation report for December 2020.

Pennsylvania's unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.7% in December, the eighth consecutive monthly decline. The U.S. rate remained unchanged from November to December at 6.7%. The Commonwealth's unemployment rate was 2.1 percentage points above its December 2019 level while the national rate was up 3.1 points over the year. 

Pennsylvania's civilian labor force – the estimated number of residents working or looking for work – decreased 15,000 over the month due to declines in both employment and unemployment. 

Pennsylvania's total nonfarm jobs were down 37,600 over the month to 5,606,000 in December. The December decline followed seven consecutive monthly gains. Jobs decreased in seven of the 11 industry supersectors, but the largest decline occurred in leisure & hospitality (minus-36,900). The largest gain was in trade, transportation, and utilities, plus-18,700 jobs due to increases in all component sectors – wholesale trade, retail trade and transportation, warehousing & utilities.

Additional information is available on the L&I website at www.dli.pa.gov or by following the Department on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Note: The above data are seasonally adjusted. Seasonally adjusted data provide the most valid month-to-month comparison. 

Current PA Labor Force Statistics
(Seasonally adjusted; in thousands)

PA Nonagricultural Wage & Salary Employment
(Seasonally adjusted; in thousands)

For a more detailed breakdown of seasonally adjusted jobs data at the sector level, please contact the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis at 1-877-4WF-DATA, or visit www.paworkstats.pa.gov