Maryland must do better for the state’s lowest-paid workers — now

When the state legislature voted in 2019 to increase Maryland’s minimum wage, no one could have predicted the ways the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic would change lives and communities. Indeed, the pandemic underscored just how much this increase of the minimum wage to $15 is needed and deserved by workers — now.

Gov. Wes Moore has made increasing the minimum wage on an accelerated schedule — $15 by this year rather than 2025 as mandated by the 2019 law — one of his top priorities during his first legislative session. We are fortunate to have a new governor who recognizes the value of supporting workers, including the front line workers who kept businesses and communities running during the pandemic. From home care aides to nursing home staff to restaurant workers to delivery drivers, our communities and families benefited immensely from the sacrifices and dedication of these workers.

While the phased increases in the minimum wage that have taken effect since the law’s passage have made a positive impact, these increases have been outpaced by inflation and soaring costs for basic needs, like food and housing. The phased timeline in the original legislation does not meet our current, costly realities. Our Maryland workers urgently need better wages and protections to sufficiently provide for themselves and their families now.

Cost of living data show that even in lower-cost areas such as Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore, workers need at least a $15 minimum wage just to cover the basics. Workers supporting families need even more.

As inflation and rising costs continue to affect pocketbooks and local economies, we should ensure Maryland’s minimum wage keeps pace moving ahead so that families can meet their basic needs. Roughly one-third of states in the nation have implemented measures to index the minimum wage to cost of living measures so that it automatically adjusts to keep up with rising costs. Maryland should do the same.

State legislative leaders can also ensure that workers left behind in the 2019 bill are included, strengthening their economic security and working conditions. The accelerated minimum wage standards should include younger workers under age 20, agricultural workers and seasonal workers — all of whom currently fall under different, lower-wage requirements. Updated minimum-wage standards also should be applied to the wages of tipped workers who can make a base wage of only $3.63 per hour.

Legislators have the ability to raise wages for 9% of workers in the state, benefiting approximately 217,000 Marylanders. According to the Maryland Center on Economic Policy, 11% of Maryland children — nearly 151,000 — live in households that would see an increase in household income. Of those who would get a raise, 58% are women and 25% are Black or Latinx.

Wage increases would have a tremendous impact on workers in these roles and their families. Among workers in low-wage roles, those under age 20 are disproportionately more likely to come from low-income households, and about half of younger workers are also struggling to work their way through college while facing spiraling debt. Among workers in tipped jobs, instability from fluctuations in tips can have dire consequences on the ability to pay bills and cover necessities. Creating one fair wage to include tipped workers would protect them from the risks of relying on an unstable income.

In the earlier days of the pandemic, our communities rallied together to support each other, institutions posted banners thanking health care workers as heroes, and tireless, dedicated workers showed up on their jobs to keep our state running. Isn’t it time we channel that energy into supporting wages that will provide more financial security for some of the very workers we thanked?

We live in one of the wealthiest states in the nation, with the highest median income per family in America. We have the means to support these policies to help expand economic opportunities.

Yet millions of workers in low-wage jobs cannot earn the incomes that allow their families to thrive. “When I think about the American dream, I think about shared prosperity,” said Sen. Cory McCray during the debate on the bill in 2019. “When we lift the standards for one worker, we are lifting the standards for all workers.”

It is time we elevate that vision once more, and make sure our state policies truly make shared prosperity possible for our lowest paid workers, too.