Biz joins labor in push for minimum-wage increase
MEDIA » Members of the Service Employees International Union Local 668 joined elected officials and representatives of small business on the steps of the county courthouse Thursday to rally for an increase in the state’s minimum wage.
“Pennsylvania’s minimum wage was last raised July of 2007,” said SEIU regional business agent Ray Martinez. “As a result of the low minimum wage, people are suffering, families are suffering, children are suffering and our communities are suffering.”
Pennsylvania matches the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for nontipped employees. Gov. Tom Wolf vowed in February to increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour. State Rep. Patty Kim, D-103, of Dauphin County, has introduced a bill that would hit that target effective immediately.
House Bill 1520 would also bring the minimum wage up to $15 by 2024, and raise the tipped minimum wage, currently $2.38 per hour, up to $9 immediately and up to $12 by 2024.
Martinez said it is a myth that most of those earning a minimum wage are teenagers living at home. JoAnne P. Sessa, secretary-treasurer of SEIU Local 668, said a raise to $12 per hour would impact about 1.4 million Pennsylvanians, 90 percent of which over the age of 20. She said nearly 60 percent of those working minimum wage jobs are women, more than 150,000 are single parents, more than 250,000 are aged 55 or older and more than half work full time.
Sessa said raising the minimum wage would also help the state’s economy, which has a projected $1.5 billion shortfall from last year. The increase could potentially add $95 million to state coffers through payroll taxes and unburden the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Human Services by $50 million in the form of reduced welfare payments, she said.
Opponents of raising the minimum wage argue that doing so could strain small businesses struggling to retain workers. Missouri Republican Gov. Eric Greitens recently said that his state’s policy of allowing cities to set their own wage levels had forced some business owners to cut back on hours and positions, and St. Louis is poised to reduce the minimum wage from the current $10 an hour back to the state standard of $7.70.
A recent study by the University of California at Berkeley found that increasing minimum wages in Seattle up to $13 per hour and did not cause significant employment swings.
Jennifer Weigel, general manager of MOM’s Organic Market, said Thursday that the tradeoff in reduced turnover, customer satisfaction and wasted job training dollars more than makes up the difference of paying higher wages.
MOM’s has increased its starting wage in recent years from $8 to $12 per hour, which Weigel said was a “strategic investment” that is showing dividends. The company is more profitable than ever, according to Weigel, with more than 1,000 employees and more than $200 million in annual sales.
“Long-term employees are more productive and also offer more expertise and better customer service, which increases revenue,” she said. “Raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is a business strategy. We can’t hire anyone unless people buy our products. When people earn more money, they spend more at local businesses like ours.”
State Rep. Joanna E. McClinton, D-191, of Philadelphia, a co-sponsor of HB 1520, said Pennsylvania’s low minimum wage has prevented her constituents from providing for their families.
“Why can’t they provide for them?” she said. “It’s not because they’re not hard working. It’s not because they don’t go to work … It’s because they are not being paid what they’re worth.”
Roxanne Hoag, the Chapter 10 Chair of SEIU Local 668, noted Pennsylvania is surrounded on all sides by states with a higher minimum wage. Delaware is currently at $8.25 per hour, while Maryland and West Virginia have set the wage floor at $8.75. New Jersey’s minimum is $8.44 and Ohio’s is $8.15.
“It is imperative that all Pennsylvanians have a livable minimum wage,” said Upper Darby 7th District Councilwoman Sekela Coles, a Democrat. “So many of the issues that are rampant in our community stem from underemployment, widespread poverty and the hopelessness that stems from families not having the means to be financially independent.”
Lawmakers are expected to return to Harrisburg today to continue working on a state budget. Martinez urged residents to reach out to their representatives and tell them to include a higher minimum wage as part of that deal.