HARRISBURG, Pa. — There’s a new push to raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania. During Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget address in Harrisburg on Tuesday, he got a standing ovation for the proposal.
“It is time we raise our minimum wage to $15 an hour here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said.
The minimum wage has been sitting at $7.25 an hour in Pennsylvania for the last 15 years. That’s the lowest of any neighboring state.
“We’re falling behind,” said Shapiro. “It’s anticompetitive and it’s hurting our workers.”
Pizza Bosa on 5th Avenue near PPG Paints Arena was bustling with Pens fans. Owner Nazim Islamov believes a small bump in minimum wage could boost his small business even more.
“The customers coming in, they’re going to be making more money,” Islamov said. “Obviously, they’re going to have money to spend.”
Islamov, however, said a $15 an hour pay hike right now could hurt him.
“To raise it to $15 from $7.25 is a little bit too much. It’s going up 50%,” he said. “It would be tough to do it right away.”
Some Republican lawmakers agree.
State Senators Kim Ward and Joe Pittman said their caucus is open to talking about a minimum wage increase. It’s just a matter of how much. They say raising it to $15 in a year could be detrimental.
“We can’t forget our nonprofits and our libraries, our nursing homes,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ward said. “That would kill them. They’re already working on a shoestring budget, so we’ll take everything into consideration. We’ll take the entire spectrum of businesses and nonprofits into consideration toward working out something on minimum wage.”
Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman emphasized concerns for small businesses and the rising costs associated with raising wages.
“Whenever you do raise the minimum wage, you do have an impact on small businesses and nonprofit community,” Pittman said. “The Independent Fiscal Office even noted that 60% of any wage increase would translate into higher costs for goods and services, and in these inflationary times, we have to be very sensitive to that dynamic.”
A study released last week by the Keystone Research Center found more than 1.3 million Pennsylvanians would be impacted by a $15 minimum wage. The average worker would make an extra $2 an hour.
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