Senator Tartaglione, Congressman Boyle Detail Efforts to Raise Minimum Wage for PA and Nation

Senator Tartaglione, Congressman Boyle Detail Efforts to Raise Minimum Wage for PA and Nation

by | January 27, 2021 | Minimum Wage, News Releases

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The forthcoming Senate Bill 12 would raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, while the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 would boost the federal rate to the same level

Philadelphia, PA – January 27, 2021 – Pennsylvania’s minimum wage workers haven’t received a substantial pay raise in more than 14 years. Today, State Senator Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia) and U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pennsylvania) detailed their efforts to raise the minimum wage for the Commonwealth and for the nation as new legislative sessions commence in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C.

During a virtual meeting with the news media, Senator Tartaglione announced she will soon introduce legislation that would raise Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage to $12 per hour this year and put the Commonwealth on a path to a $15 minimum wage. The bill will be known as Senate Bill 12.

Congressman Boyle discussed the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 which was introduced in the U.S. House yesterday, January 26th. The bill proposes to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and has garnered the support of U.S. House and U.S. Senate leaders. President Biden has called upon Congress to adopt a $15 federal minimum wage as part of his economic recovery plan.

Currently, Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, the same rate as the federal minimum. The Pennsylvania legislature last raised the minimum wage on June 30, 2006, through Senate Bill 1090. Senator Tartaglione was the primary sponsor of that bill, which raised the state’s minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.15.

Three years later, Congress raised the federal minimum wage to $7.25, and Pennsylvania’s rate followed suit.

“It has been 5,317 days since the Pennsylvania Legislature last raised the minimum wage. That is more than 14 years and it is far too long,” Senator Tartaglione said, echoing language she enters into the Senate record every session day. “At the current rate, a full-time minimum wage worker earns just $15,000 a year. That’s certainly not enough for anyone to live on – even a single person with no children or dependents. It is a poverty wage. Raising the minimum wage is not just an economic issue. It’s a moral issue.”

“No American who works full time should be living in poverty,” said Congressman Boyle. “Americans working 40 hours a week should be able to put food on the table and a roof over their families’ heads, but with the minimum wage stuck at $7.25, far too many are working hard and still in poverty. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the $7.25 federal minimum wage was economically and morally indefensible. Now, the pandemic is highlighting the gross imbalance between the productivity of our nation’s workers and the wages they are paid. Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 will be a boost to the economy, a boost to productivity, and a boost to our workforce. Raising wages is good business.”

On a state level, Senate Bill 12 would raise the minimum wage to $12 this year and an additional 50 cents each year until it reaches $15. After then, the rate would be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index. In addition, Senator Tartaglione’s legislation would eliminate the sub-minimum wage for tip-earners (which is currently set at $2.83 per hour) and would repeal preemption, which prevents local governments in the Commonwealth from raising the minimum wage in their jurisdictions. Further, Senate Bill 12 would grant the Department of Labor & Industry more powers to investigate wage law violations and would increase the penalties for employers who violate wage laws.

Senator Tartaglione noted that as recently as 2019, one statewide survey of registered voters found that 69% favor raising the minimum wage to $12. Another survey that year found that 56% of voters support a $15 minimum wage. Twenty-nine states have adopted minimum wages higher than the federal rate, including all six of Pennsylvania’s immediate neighbors. Nine states have adopted a $15 minimum wage.

“The level of support for these raises will only grow as consumer prices climb and it becomes harder for low-wage workers to make ends meet, and it becomes near-impossible for them to get ahead,” Senator Tartaglione said. “If New York, New Jersey, and Maryland can have a $15 minimum wage, and if Florida voters can approve a $15 minimum wage, surely Pennsylvania can do it.”

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact William Kenny at 215-533-0440 or William.Kenny@pasenate.com.

Senator Tartaglione Introduces Legislation to Raise Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage

Senator Tartaglione Introduces Legislation to Raise Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage

by | March 22, 2019 | Minimum Wage, News Releases

Crafted in partnership with Governor Wolf, Senate Bill 12 would raise the minimum wage to $12 this year and $15 by 2025, followed by annual cost of living increases.

HARRISBURG, PA, March 22, 2019 – State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia) today introduced Senate Bill 12 that would raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $12 per hour this year, and $15 by 2025, after which the rate would be adjusted automatically each year based on a cost of living index. The measure would directly impact about 1 million Pennsylvania workers in 2019.

Senator Tartaglione crafted the bill in partnership with Governor Tom Wolf. The legislation has been referred to the Senate’s Labor & Industry Committee, of which Senator Tartaglione serves as minority chairwoman. 

 
“It’s been 13 years since Pennsylvania last raised its minimum wage and this raise is long overdue,” Senator Tartaglione said. “All six of our neighboring states have raised their minimum wages above the federal minimum, as have 29 states across the nation. Pennsylvania’s minimum wage has stagnated as the cost of living and worker productivity have soared throughout the Commonwealth and the around the country, and while income inequality has reached an all-time high.”

Pennsylvania’s minimum wage stands at $7.25 per hour, which is also the federal minimum. S.B. 12 calls for employers to pay workers at least $12 per hour starting on July 1, 2019. The minimum wage will increase by 50 cents each ensuing July 1 until reaching $15 in 2025. Starting on July 1, 2026, and each succeeding July 1 thereafter, the minimum wage would increase in proportion with the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland area.

In addition, the legislation would eliminate the sub-minimum wage for tip earners, workers with disabilities, apprentices, and students. It would eliminate the preemption on municipal wage ordinances, expand the powers of the Department of Labor & Industry to recover wages and penalties for violations of the Minimum Wage Act, increase monetary penalties for violations, and bring enforcement in line with the nation’s Fair Labor Standards Act.

Due to inflation, the minimum wage has lost 29 percent of its earning power over the last 50 years. At $7.25 per hour, a full-time, year-round worker would earn just $15,080 per year, which is below the federal poverty level for a two-person household, such as the single parent of an only child. Data show that most of Pennsylvania’s low-wage workers are women and age 20 or older. Low-wage workers contribute more than half of the average family income in Pennsylvania.

“Vital members of our community, such as child care and home health workers, bank tellers, construction workers, retail and hospitality workers who work full-time while making the minimum wage only earn about $15,000 a year,” Senator Tartaglione said. “They cannot afford basic necessities such as rent, transportation, food, and prescriptions. Many are forced to rely on public assistance to get by. The inability for hard-working people to care for their basic needs, or those of their families, is morally wrong and is economically unsound.”

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact William Kenny at 215-533-0440 or email at William.Kenny@pasenate.com.