Dems and labor rally to raise the minimum wage

(The Center Square) – Laborers and Democrats from across the state rallied in Harrisburg Monday to support bills that would raise the state hourly minimum wage to $15.

Currently, the state’s minimum of $7.25 mirrors the federal and is lower than every state that borders it. The effort to raise the wage to $15 began in 2010, making this the 15th consecutive year lawmakers have pushed for an increase.

“We need to send a message in this Commonwealth that all work has dignity,” said Lt. Gov. Austin Davis. “I know what it’s like to come from a working class family to come from a working class community, and we need to say now is the time more than ever to give them a raise to make sure that they can afford the basic necessities.”

Republicans who oppose raising the wage say that it would result in the closure of small businesses who can’t afford to pay their employees that much. They’ve also indicated that very few people make the minimum wage, with most of them being workers like servers who supplement those earnings with tips.

Democrats say that 1.3 million Pennsylvanians would benefit from raising the minimum wage, including home care workers who support families and the elderly, school support staff, and custodians.

Rep. Roni Green, D-Philadelphia, introduced bill House Bill 1150, which would raise the minimum wage  to $15 in 2026 and set it to a cost of living adjustment. It would also allow municipalities to set their own minimums above the state’s and enforce the minimum wage for tipped workers, closing a loophole that has long allowed employers to pay as low as $2.83 as long as tips make up the difference.

According to Green, raising the wage would add a million dollars in revenue to the state’s coffers.

Stephanie Gibson, a security guard and shop steward in Center City Philadelphia said even working two jobs at $16.25 per hour – more than twice the minimum – she makes just $500 weekly after taxes. It’s the same amount as her monthly grocery expenses, leaving just $1,500 to cover housing, utilities, transportation, and every other cost that hits her household.

In these conditions, she’s raised her six children and now says, “Enough is enough.”

Based on the Consumer Price Index, $7.25 in 2009 is the equivalent of $10.63 today, indicating that earnings have actually gone down in value since the number was set.

“For 19 years, Pennsylvania workers have been told to wait, to work harder to stretch that dollar that doesn’t stretch anymore,” said Sen. Christine Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia. “It’s been 6,876 days. That’s a disgrace.”

Sentiment is growing that the people who make – or block – the laws are living a fundamentally different lifestyle than the people impacted by them, noting that legislators in the statehouse have consistently voted to give themselves raises.

“We work hard, but we don’t work any harder than those who have a job, two or three and go to work every day, trying to take care of their families and being forced to work those two and three jobs,” said Green.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 Keystone State President Wendell Young suggested that the state’s Republican caucus be forced to live on the current minimum wage themselves.

“Let’s see how they do on $15,000 a year!” said Young, suggesting that some legislators spend that much on lunches in a year.

Dwayne Heisler, campaign director of the Pennsylvania Policy Center, says that as people see threats to programs like Medicaid and SNAP, they’re waking up to the disconnect between their interests and those of elected politicians.

Heisler brought with him Mr. Rigs, a giant inflatable “fat cat” sitting on a pile of money which he also mounted outside the Fighting Oligarchy rally at the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex on Friday. Heisler said that the cat represents a rigged system that benefits the rich while worsening the plight of the working class.

“Billionaires don’t make paychecks. They don’t even think about that,” he said, referring to the president and other political players at the national level.