Workers in 25 states will see their paychecks grow when minimum wage increases go into effect in 2022, but Pennsylvania is not one of them because the Republican-led General Assembly has refused for over a decade to raise the commonwealth’s embarrassingly low $7.25-per-hour minimum wage.
“Pennsylvania’s food service, retail and social services workers have deserved a minimum wage hike for many years, but today the need is even more urgent. Millions of Pennsylvanians – many of them the frontline workers we called heroes in the early days of the pandemic – are struggling to support their families on hourly wages under $15,” Governor Tom Wolf said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the global economy, and we see that reflected in a very reasonable reluctance of workers to take low-wage jobs in the midst of rising inflation.
“Parents with young children literally cannot afford to work these jobs if the cost of child care eclipses their paycheck. I’m urging the General Assembly to pass legislation that increases Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $12 an hour and creates a pathway to $15.”
There are proposed bills waiting in both the House and the Senate for action. Sen. Tina Tartaglione’s S.B. 12 and Rep. Patty Kim’s H.B. 345 would both increase Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $12 with a pathway to $15, then implement annual increases tied to the consumer price index.
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