Legislation to greatly increase Pennsylvania's minimum wage, House Bill 1500, passed in the House by a vote of 103-100.
PA House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler urged a 'no' vote on the bill.
A $15/hour minimum wage hike will HURT the very workers it is intended to help.
The most vulnerable workers, with barriers to employment, who may not be able to sell their labor for $15/hour will be hurt the most.
These workers include people with disabilities, people reentering society after incarceration, people recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, and teens entering the workforce for the first time (especially poor and minority teens).
These workers will be hurt by elimination of jobs, reduction of hours, and reduced opportunity.
A $15/hour minimum wage hike will HURT consumers, especially low wage workers.
When the IFO in 2019 analyzed who would bear the cost of a minimum wage hike to $12, they determined that PA consumers would pay for 65% ($2.3 BILLION) of the increased labor cost in the form of higher prices. This bill will cost consumers billions.
With Joe Biden’s inflation, EVERYTHING is more expensive – groceries, clothing, family vacations ... everything.
A minimum wage hike will exacerbate this problem by increasing the cost of anything that involves lower-wage labor.
The workers this bill purports to help will be the most impacted by any price increases because they have less discretionary income.
A massive increase in the tipped minimum wage will HURT the tipped workers it is intended to help.
Restaurants and taverns will have to increase menu and drink prices or add a service charge to pay higher wages – so consumers will ultimately pay for this.
Consumers paying higher costs will be less likely to leave a generous tip – or in some cases, go out at all.
The current law already requires that tipped employees must earn at least the minimum wage – and employers must make up the difference if not enough tips are received.
Servers at full-service restaurants already make an average of $27/hour.
Raising the tipped minimum wage will lower take-home pay for these workers.
Minimum wage was NEVER intended to be a living wage.
Minimum wage is a starting point for those entering the workforce.
Adjusted for inflation using the same COLA as the General Assembly, the $7.25/hour wage would be $9.52/hour in 2023.
The original federal minimum wage of $0.25/hour in Oct 1938 adjusted by the CPI would be $5.43/hour in May 2023.
Who Does This Bill Affect? Not Who You Might Think*
Just 1% of Pennsylvania’s workforce actually earns minimum wage. In other words, 99% of working Pennsylvanians earn a wage higher than minimum wage.
Contrary to popular belief, the “face of the minimum wage” is not a single parent raising children. 93% are either single or married with no children; and only 7% are single parents.
The minimum wage debate should not be one of class conflict. Not all minimum wage earners come from low socioeconomic strata. 62% of minimum wage earners come from middle- and upper-class families (household income over $50,000).
*
PA Dept. Labor & Industry source