Hawaiʻi Democrats must raise minimum wage
All Hawaiʻi workers should be able to make ends meet with one job, and it’s our legislature’s responsibility to make that a reality.
Minimum wage has stayed at $10.10 for 4 years. With high inflation, will lawmakers make any changes?
The latest state data show a single adult would need to make about $17 to $18 an hour at a full-time job to afford to live in Hawaiʻi.
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.
House leadership bails out businesses but bails on worker relief
Unemployment insurance benefits should be exempt from Hawaiʻi income tax, but a Senate bill calling for that has unfortunately stalled.
Two pay raises for lawmakers over the next year are raising eyebrows
The salary commission approved the wage hikes two years ago but critics now question the optics of government officials getting pay raises during an economic crisis.
Hypocrisy in Hawaiʻi’s House of Representatives
How can legislators justify giving themselves a raise when they refuse to hold hearings on increasing the minimum wage?
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.
Working families need more relief
The statistics on the struggle of Hawaiʻi’s families look worse with each passing year. The current minimum hourly rate, $10.10, does not go far enough.
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.
Hawaiʻi’s economy will benefit from a higher minimum wage
Opponents can only make disingenuous arguments that rely on irrelevant information.
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.”
Out of touch lawmakers failed to raise minimum wage
An increase would have shown that Democrats still fight for the interests of working families.
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.
‘Democratic’ lawmakers fail to pass living wage
One lawmaker reportedly called the outcome “bittersweet.” No, it was just bitter.
Minimum wage bill shelved
Conferees had last-minute concerns about whether a separate wage scale was legal and whether it would cause unintended consequences, so lawmakers ultimately decided to remove the scale entirely.
Lawmakers reject minimum wage increase
In a development that derailed one of the top priorities of the Hawaiʻi Democratic Party for this year, House and Senate negotiators gave up on the idea of passing an increase in the $10.10-per-hour state minimum wage this year.
Minimum wage increase dead for 2019 session
Concerns about different rates of increase and the impact to employer health care plans scuttled a deal.
A flurry of deal-making at the Hawaiʻi legislature as end of session looms
Hawaiʻi lawmakers have pushed back a decision on increasing the state’s minimum wage until Friday, the last day of conference committee to keep bills alive for the 2019 session.