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.
The much ballyhooed effort to raise the minimum wage was just one bill that died with no vote or announcement. Lawmakers didn’t want you to even ask, much less know.
Saiki could have written two lines that synthesized his entire commentary: “The Chamber of Commerce, which funds my campaign, didn’t want me to pass a living minimum wage for the people of Hawaiʻi. So I didn’t.”
The leadership of the House of Representatives let our workers down: they include Scott Saiki, Mark Nakashima, Della Au Belatti, Dee Morikawa, Tom Brower, Aaron Johanson and Sylvia Luke.
An increase would have shown that Democrats still fight for the interests of working families.
People are dying. Real people are really dying. Let’s vote for some real change in 2020, shall we?
Our legislators allowed a raise for themselves but declined to vote on a living wage for the working people of Hawaiʻi, many of whom work two or three jobs.
Our state legislature, dominated by lawmakers who were elected under the flag of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi, refused to pass legislation increasing the minimum wage, a top legislative priority of their own party.
Our legislators should be embarrassed. Instead they are going to receive pay raises they don’t deserve.
Advocates are rightly concerned that the failure of a minimum-wage increase to pass will not make it any easier for low-income renters to afford what housing is available.
