Economic recovery should focus on working families
And Hawaiʻi’s lawmakers should pass legislation that supports workers’ well-being.
House must act on living wage: Our keiki deserve to thrive
Our representatives need to give us some hope that we can prosper here. That our keiki can prosper here. Raise the minimum wage.
Dark clouds are looming over Hawaiʻi even as the economy appears to be improving
Economic experts say many people are worse off than they were before the pandemic and a lower unemployment rate is simply masking deeper problems.
State, city hoodwink the poor, rest of us
“Sickening, just sickening,” writes Joel Fischer, Waiʻalae resident.
Minimum wage increase needed
Hawaiʻi’s chronically low wages are a disaster bigger then Hurricane ʻIniki or the 2018 Puna lava flow, writes one Hawaiʻi Island resident.
Minimum wage hike bill advances, but critics say it’s still not enough
A bill to hike Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage is moving to the full house, but critics say it still falls short of what a person needs to live in the 50th state.
Minimum wage bill teed up for House vote
If also approved by the Senate and governor, Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage would rise to $13 an hour by 2024.
It is simply impossible to survive on $21,000 a year
For the past two years, advocates of a living wage have been seeking a $17 an hour minimum wage so that people can survive here.
Advocates rally at the capitol to demand higher minimum wage
About 50 living wage advocates rallied at the state capitol Wednesday evening to push lawmakers to raise the the hourly wage to $17, from the current minimum of $10.10.
How a living wage would help lots of Hawaiʻi workers
More than half of the children in the state have a parent earning below $17 per hour.
Fight for $15: Lawmakers fail our ʻohana on wages
How much harder for those working minimum-wage jobs in Hawaiʻi, who had every right to expect their elected leaders to address their needs?
Saiki, House leave local workers worse off
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.”
‘Republicrats’ failed workers by not raising minimum wage
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.
Out of touch lawmakers failed to raise minimum wage
An increase would have shown that Democrats still fight for the interests of working families.
Hawaiʻi’s people suffer while legislators fail to pass meaningful bills
People are dying. Real people are really dying. Let’s vote for some real change in 2020, shall we?
Shameful for lawmakers to not act on living wage
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.
Sine Die—my take on the 2019 session
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.
Legislature did nothing to deserve pay raise
Our legislators should be embarrassed. Instead they are going to receive pay raises they don’t deserve.
Housing progress needs firm steps
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.
Pay raise for ineffectual lawmakers is appalling
What kind of lawmakers would give themselves a large pay raise for a part-time badly done job?