Across the Lehigh Valley, recent economic growth has been desperately uneven. But, for all the changes, one thing has stayed the same: The minimum wage across Pennsylvania has been stuck at the federal rate of $7.25 for the last 14 years.
We can’t have healthy communities if families are stuck in poverty for decades. The cascading effects of low pay fray every thread of our community fabric, and we cannot make repairs while preemption remains in place.
Take, for example, someone born in Bethlehem who started working in 1998: They’ve seen the minimum wage go up by about $2 in the last 25 years. It’s deeply unfair and hits Black and brown workers especially hard. In majority-minority cities like Allentown where most people rent, a few dollars make a difference. Only the state Legislature can correct this injustice.
In every city and county in Pennsylvania, local leaders are preempted from setting a minimum wage that makes sense for their communities. We need to end preemption of local minimum wage laws in the Minimum Wage Act. The minimum wage act should act as a basic standard for wages, not a ceiling we can’t build past.
Not only does this silence the voice of citizens in every corner of the state, but it also disproportionately affects people of color and ensures that those with the least struggle the most. Preemption is not some budgetary quirk: It is a racial justice issue and a barrier to income equality in our communities.
For a single parent in Allentown, $7.25 an...
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