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WILKES-BARRE — The minimum wage has not increased in Pennsylvania in about a decade, and a group gathered at City Hall on Thursday believes a hike is long overdue.
Speakers at the rally said raising the $7.25-per-hour minimum rate is a critical step to increase the earnings of workers in Pennsylvania. It would also provide additional income tax revenue while ensuring that working families have access to basic needs, they argued.
State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, said a person earning minimum wage makes $15,080 per year, some $4,700 below the poverty line.
“At that rate, they can still qualify for welfare,” Pashinski said. “Wages in Pennsylvania have been at the bottom for too many years. Everything keeps going up — it’s time for the minimum wage to go up as well.”
Joining Pashinski at the rally were Michael Clemente, regional director of Arias Agencies; Joe Padavan, of United Steelworkers and president of the Wilkes-Barre Labor Council; John Walton, president of the local AFGE (American Federation of Government Employees) chapter; Aaron Troisi of SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Healthcare PA; Greg Riedlinger of SEIU Local 668; Alisha Hoffman-Mirilovich of Action Together; and Rose Yanko, of SEIU Healthcare PA.
Gov. Tom Wolf has included a raise for Pennsylvania’s lowest-paid workers in his proposed budget, and more than 70 percent of Pennsylvanians support raising the wage, Troisi said, adding that neighboring states have all increased their minimum pay rates.
J.J. Abbott, Wolf’s press secretary, said the governor’s budget included raising the minimum wage to $12 per hour.
“Gov. Wolf believes workers are long-overdue for an increase in the minimum wage and is open to working with the Legislature to enact one, even if at a different rate than he proposed,” Abbott said.
State Rep. Patty Kim, D-Dauphin County, has proposed legislation — House Bill 1520 — that contains seven scheduled minimum wage increases, beginning with $12 per hour and followed with additional 50-cent incremental increases yearly to $15 per hour by 2023.
Troisi of SEIU said low-wage workers, elected officials, advocates, business leaders and the public continue to call on the Legislature to pass HB-1520. It would increase the minimum wage for non-tipped employees to $12 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2018, and to $9 per hour for tipped employees.
“No worker should have to work for poverty-level wages,” said Padavan of United Steelworkers. “Raising the minimum wage is a no-brainer and I strongly support HB-1520.”
Meanwhile, Clemente of Arias Agencies said his business also supports increasing Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $15 hourly by the middle of the next decade.
“Paying a higher wage has been a critical component of our business success,” Clemente said. “We know our employees are the best investment in our agency’s long-term growth. Likewise, raising the state’s minimum wage is an investment in economic growth for our state. It will lift consumer-buying power and strengthen the economy for both workers and businesses.”
Troisi said increasing the minimum wage would create $95 million in new state tax receipts, which could be applied to the state’s existing deficit.
Rep. Pashinski said HB-1520 would help 1.4 million Pennsylvania workers.
“This is the right direction and path for Pennsylvanian to take as we find ourselves struggling to finance our spending and retire our structural deficit,” Pashinski said. “At a time when not only the state but local governments are asked to provide more services with less money, I support Gov. Wolf’s budget proposal to raise the minimum wage for all hourly workers.”
Hoffman-Mirilovich of Action Together said the perception is that most minimum-wage jobs are held by high school students. But in reality, many people over 40 and many senior citizens are in the lowest-paying positions.
“Luzerne County and Pennsylvania deserve a raise,” she said. “Northeastern Pennsylvania is one of the most economically depressed regions in Pennsylvania. We are hard-working people who need a chance.”
Action Together describes itself online as an advocate of “using liberal ideas to promote progressivism.”