FOREST HILLS, Pa. —
Pennsylvania is one step closer to passing a bill to increase the minimum wage in the state from $7.25 an hour to $11 an hour.
Tracie Barbour has worked as a waitress at Jodi B's Restaurant in Forest Hills for more than 10 years. She said the Pennsylvania House Committee passing a bill along party lines to increase the minimum wage is a big deal.
"We need the extra money. We need to keep moving forward in everything and this is another part of it," Barbour said.
Tammi Gerboc owns the restaurant and said she knows raising the minimum wage could hinder small business owners, but she said the change would be worth it in the end to keep loyal employees.
She said it's not going to be easy for small businesses like ours or anybody else but it's past time.
If the bill becomes law after the first hike to $11 an hour, minimum wage would then increase to $13 an hour in 2025 and $15 an hour in 2026.
After that, there would be cost of living increases beginning in 2027.
The bill also sets the minimum wage for tipped workers at 60% of the hourly minimum wage.
Gerboc said, "It's a trickle-down effect. The food prices have gone up, everything else has gone up, so we have to raise it to accommodate those two, but it's a trickle effect."
The legislation still faces a vote in the Democrat-led House but likely faces bleak prospects in the Republican-controlled Senate.
If the bill becomes law, the increase would go into effect Jan. 1, 2024.
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