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Little Progress Seen on PA Minimum Wage
State stuck at 2009 level as Ohio, New York set to raise minimum wage
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service
The Tube City Almanac
December 30, 2024
Posted in: State & Region
In January, low-wage workers in Pennsylvania will be missing out on pay hikes seen in 23 other states.
Neighboring states such as Ohio are starting the new year with higher minimum wages.
Gillian Kratzer, deputy director of the advocacy group Better Pennsylvania, said the state’s minimum wage has stayed the same as the federal minimum wage, $7.25, since 2009. Her group argues that a better economy requires people to have money to spend.
“When you are living not just at minimum wage but even within some distance above it, you do not have money to spend, you are living paycheck to paycheck,” Kratzer said.
Kratzer said it is up to the state legislature to set the minimum wage. The state House passed House Bill 1500 — legislation to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026. Although the idea has bipartisan support, the Senate has not yet acted on a similar bill, Senate Bill 1186.
The Senate is controlled by Republicans, while Democrats maintain a one-seat majority in the House.
President-elect Donald Trump recently told NBC News the current federal rate of $7.25 is "a very low number" and he would consider raising it. Kratzer said increasing the minimum wage in Pennsylvania would also help businesses to thrive.
“One of the things that it does for businesses is it helps decrease turnover,” Kratzer said. “Turnover is a really big problem, because when you hire a new employee, you have to train that new employee. Decreasing turnover by paying a wage that people can live on means that you're keeping employees.”
Kratzer argued the notion raising the minimum wage will lead to business closures is not supported by evidence.
According to the legislation tracking website Ballotpedia, 23 states are set to increase their minimum wages by an average of 75 cents, with bordering state Ohio seeing a 25-cent increase. New York State will raise its minimum wage by 50 cents to $16.50.
Danielle M. Smith is a producer for Public News Service, where this story first appeared. An award-winning radio journalist/personality with more than a decade of experience in broadcast media, she is a former audio journalist with American Urban Radio Networks and Sheridan Broadcasting Networks who also hosts a weekly community affairs show “Good News” on WGBN (1360 AM/98.9 FM).
Originally published December 30, 2024.
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