Advocates for a living wage will be asking our elected officials to deliver on their promises and pass a living wage bill in the 2021 legislative session. But we can’t do it without support from you.
It’s time to Raise Up Hawaiʻi
Every worker deserves a Living Wage.
I’ve spent 45 years in corporate America with operations in Hawaiʻi, and it’s mind-boggling to me that employers in Hawaiʻi put up resistance to increasing the minimum wage.
During a hearing regarding HB 1191 on Jan. 31, public testimony was widely in favor of the measure, with most of the dissent coming from business owners and associations.
$15 an hour is not a living wage. It is the minimum for someone just hoping to live with dignity and independence.
The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism is clear: $21,000 a year—that’s what full-time, minimum-wage workers make at $10.10 an hour—simply does not allow them to meet basic needs in high-cost Hawaiʻi. It is by no stretch of the imagination a living wage.
Under HB1191 HD1, the minimum wage for employees not receiving employer-sponsored health insurance will gradually increase until it reaches $15.00 in 2024, and $12.50 in 2024 for employees who are receiving employer-sponsored health insurance.
Two legislative newcomers urge senior colleagues to prioritize working families over business interests.
I urge our Democratic legislators to do the right thing by working together to increase Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage significantly in each of the next two, or preferably, four years.
The term is designed to show the minimum someone needs to earn to support themselves and their family if they’re working full time.
“We need to concentrate on prosperity for all,” said Rep. Ward, (R, Kalama Valley- Queen’s Gate-Hawaiʻi Kai). “We’re becoming increasingly the haves and have-nots, and I think we have to narrow that.”
