Our fight for economic justice continues
Hawaii passed a groundbreaking minimum wage increase last year, but the work to build a society in which working families can thrive is far from over. Here are our priorities for 2023.
Minimum wage workers prepare for Oct 1. increase to wage, tip penalty
Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage workers will see their pay rise to $12 an hour beginning Saturday, October 1, 2022. As of 2019, there were more than 88,000 workers in Hawaiʻi earning the minimum wage of $10.10 an hour.
Coalitions applaud signing of historic minimum wage and tax fairness legislation
HB2510 will boost annual incomes for low-wage workers by thousands of dollars over the next 6 years, strengthening the economy while alleviating poverty.
Community urges Gov. Ige to sign nation’s first $18 minimum wage law
With his signature, House Bill 2510 would increase minimum wage, improve major tax credit.
Residents will urge legislators to keep promises to working families
Efforts to raise minimum wage and expand major tax credit at risk of falling through.
House leadership to kill senate minimum wage proposal with no hearing
Labor Chair Onishi and House leadership are about to let SB2018 die without a hearing in the House, demonstrating a carelessness toward tens of thousands of struggling Hawaiʻi workers.
Workers and living wage supporters to hold rally for $18 by 2026
The path to a living wage needs to start now.
Raise Up Hawaiʻi coalition wants state economy to work for all, not just tourists and wealthy corporations
Local workers, community members and coalition partners plan to gather at the Honolulu airport to demonstrate support for passage of a living wage policy in 2022.
$13 an hour isn't enough to live on in 2020, much less 2024
In the most expensive state in the nation, Hawai‘i’s minimum wage workers need to make enough to be able to afford the basics.
Joint legislative package a good start that needs to go further
The legislative package proposed by leadership in the State House and Senate calls for a $13 an hour minimum wage by 2024—Hawaiʻi workers already need at least $17 an hour to afford basic needs in 2020.
What is a living wage in Hawaiʻi in 2020?
Hawaiʻi's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism released new self-sufficiency standards that put the minimum survival wage above $17 an hour for 2020.
How much would Hawaiʻi prices rise if the minimum wage rose to $17 by 2025?
The consensus among researchers is that the anticipated price increases from a minimum wage increase are not particularly large.
Who are Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage workers?
Research shows that, of the 88,000 minimum wage workers in Hawaiʻi, the majority are female, over 25 years old, and not trainees.
Wage increase advocates rally for support at legislature
Advocates are asking legislators to enact a living wage that keeps up with the high cost of living in what is effectively the most expensive state in the nation.
What is a living wage in Hawaiʻi?
The current minimum wage in Hawaiʻi is $10.10 an hour, or $21,000 per year for full-time work. Everyone who lives here knows that’s not enough to make ends meet in the highest cost-of-living state in the nation.
Honolulu City Council considering living wage resolution
Honolulu City Council Chair Ernie Martin has introduced a resolution that would urge the state legislature to consider raising the minimum wage to a living wage.
Hawaiʻi has the worst minimum wage in the nation
While Hawaiʻi has the nation's highest cost of living, the minimum wage is stagnant at $10.10 with no plans to increase it.