Pennsylvania workers are getting a well deserved raise to $6.25 on January 1st and then $7.15 per hour on July 1st. The raise will affect about 423,000 workers. Citizen Hunters should be proud of all the calls and letters they wrote - this is a victory worth celebrating.
The large numbers of support for final passage of SB 1090 - it was 161-37 in the House and 38-12 in the Senate - show that if we force a vote both federally and in our states, the pressure to support a raise is overwhelming. We cannot allow politicians to hide behind leaders refusing a vote on this issue of moral importance.
A Pew Research Poll found that 83% of Americans feel the minimum wage should be raised from its current $5.15 to $7.15 an hour, with half of the respondents saying they "strongly support" the idea. The poll showed the issue cut across party and economic lines, with all groups showing widespread support.
Republicans lawmakers read these polls and know that if it came up for a vote in D.C. it would have to get bipartisan support or they might not be in Congress. For the last several years, Democrats have been pushing to raise the minimum wage; Republicans have blocked it every time. It looks like R's are feeling the pressure and will have to let this come to a vote, so keep the heat on and let your Representatives know that you think we deserve a raise.
Democrats are employing some tactics of their own, saying they will block the $3,300 pay increase the Congress voted themselves until they show American workers the same compassion.
Massachusetts is also set to raise the minimum wage to $8.00 by 2008. The raise will affect more than 300,000 workers. The only thing that could stop it is a veto from Republican Governor Mitt Romney. Make sure you give his office a call and let him know how you feel. This is mostly for MA Citizen Hunters, but since he is considering a Presidential run, if you have a few extra minutes it wouldn't hurt.
If you are a Citizen Hunter in Arizona, California, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma or Ohio, look to a ballot box near you as you will get to vote, and hopefully join 19 other states who got tired of waiting for D.C. to figure it out and raised the minimum wage above the federal level on their own.
UPDATE 7/15: Thanks to a North Carolina Citizen Hunter for letting us know that the minimum wage just got raised to $6.15!
Congrats to you guys. I am out here in CA, the left coast, and saw that they are trying to get something on the ballot. Thank you for the heads-up I will look to sign a petition.
Posted by: Julie at July 12, 2006 09:21 PMI would venture to guess that many of the folks who voted against the min wage increase couldn't tell you the price of a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread.
They probably don't know what it feels like to have their mom or dad wake up at 4:30 am in the morning to go to one job and not come home until after 10:00 pm from another, just to provide the basics, which may or may not include phone service or for some weeks, electricity, when an emergency comes up.
Instead they talked about inflation, smaller profit margins, and the plight of the business class.
The Bible says the poor will always be with us. This will always be true. But if my ticket to success lies on the backs of the poor, then that is not my kind of success. It makes me poorer in spirit.
Thank God for the success of the minimum wage increase, and the improvement of life for the millions of hard working moms and dads and their children.
It is about time! Why is it the Republicans in Washington can't see this is a matter of basic human dignity? A person deserves to get paid a reasonable wage for the work he or she does.
Posted by: Steve at July 13, 2006 11:13 AMAs Pennsylvania goes, so goes the nation. Or... hopefully.
Posted by: PSoTD at July 13, 2006 01:42 PMThe increase in minimum wage was long overdue. Thank goodness Ed Rendell is governor instead of "let them eat cake" republican football player lynn swann. I'm not surprised swann said it was going to hurt fast food chains and the poor. Another example of swann not knowing the issues. maybe swann can go back to football.
Posted by: Steve K at July 13, 2006 02:10 PMIncreasing the minimum mage is silly. The only people who want these laws are guilty liberals who are making waay more than minimum wage. Ask a mexican immigrant if they want the min wage increased and they are more likely to say no! Probably because the law makes it illegal for low skilled people (people whos skills are worth less than $5/hour) to work.
If the Min wage were so great then we should raise it to $15/hour like in France where the unemplyment rate is 11%.
In short this is a worthless and silly measure that usually hurts the people it is intended to help.
-Andy
Posted by: Andy at July 13, 2006 02:37 PMFirst of all I voted against the minimum raise in these comments and I know how much a gallon of milk costs where I live(3.59) and how much a loaf of bread costs(1.19), second of all your premise of mom and dad getting up at 4:30 and comming home at 10 after the second job, because of the minimum raise congradulations this raise will now put me and possibly you in that situation where I will now probably be doing that very same thing after the employers who are now paying their low skilled workers $7.15 an hour raise their price of milk and a loaf of bread to who knows what, yes, Jesus said "the poor you will always have with you..." he probably said that because he forsaw this pay raise, realize this your "ticket" truely lies on the backs of the middle class who will become an even bigger portion of the lower middle class. Now my 10 an hour won't feel like 10 an hour, instead it will feel more like $7.15 an hour, congradulations. hey, I am now part of the lower middle class jump on my back you will have me with you always.
Posted by: mike at July 14, 2006 09:48 AMWell said Andy, People only support raising the minimum wage for three reasons, liberal guilt, political expediency, or ignorance. Raising the minimum wage causes unemployment. Would you rather have 4.8% unemployment with about 1% of the working population making minium wage or 10% unemployment with 1% making a slighly higher minimum wage. Not to mention minimum wage increases act as a huge hurdle to people thinking about starting a business. Liberals have already erected so many impediments to starting a new business with their regulation of everything. This is just another attempt by them to create thier communist utopia by making all people fully dependent on the state. You can find 10 legitimate economists in the US that think raising the miniumum wage is a good idea. Liberals are so dumb it actually pains me to have to read about this "Citizen Hunter" crap.
Posted by: DC at July 14, 2006 10:28 AMWell said, Andy and DC. I can add nothing substantive to your comments, only my applause. This increase looks good on its face I suppose, but has bad consequences hidden behind it. Typical liberal short-sightedness.
Posted by: Roman at July 14, 2006 07:45 PMAs a longtime leading force in the Pennsylvania legislature for raising the minimum wage, I agree that the raise to $7.15 signed by Governor Rendell on July 9, 2006 should be widely celebrated.
But, as I said publicly at the signing ceremony, the law we enacted simply did not go far enough.
Pennsylvania's minimum wage should be raised to $8 an hour in 2008, and I introduced legislation on June 27, 2006 to do just that. The Massachusetts legislature has passed, and sent to the Governor, legislation also raising the minimum wage to $8 an hour in 2008.
When the Massachusetts legislation is enacted, Pennsylvania's minimum wage will fall from its current position of being tied with four other states for eighth place to being tied with four other states for ninth place. Further falls in relative position will likely soon follow.
This is simply unacceptable. Pennsylvanians are no less worthy of escaping poverty or being able to pay for a college education than are residents of other states. The Pennsylvania legislature should promptly take further action to advance the interests of minimum wage workers.
Posted by: Rep. Mark Cohen at July 16, 2006 03:24 AM