Hawaiʻi House leaders shelve bills that would help workers
House leaders are resisting union pressure to revive bills this year that would raise the minimum wage and exempt jobless benefits from state income taxes. House Majority Leader State Representative Della Au Belatti said the House wasn't going to take up the measures this year, citing budgetary concerns and the need to take a deeper dive into cost-of-living issues.
Senate Bill 676, which would raise the minimum wage from its current $10.10 an hour to $12 starting July 1, 2022, and Senate Bill 614, which would exempt unemployment benefits from Hawaii's income tax, both passed the Senate last month. But they stalled in the House of Representatives where the Labor and Tourism Committee didn't schedule them for hearings.
In recent days labor unions have called on the House to take “extraordinary action,” bypass committee hearings and bring the bills to a full roll call vote on the floor, a process in which legislators would have to individually state their positions on the bills.
“Hawaiʻi's working families are suffering and they need immediate and lasting relief,” labor leaders wrote in a letter this week that was sent to all House members. The letter was signed by the Hawaiʻi Ironworkers Stabilization Fund, Hawaiʻi Iron Workers Local 625, Hawaiʻi Teamsters Union, Local 996, IATSE Mixed Local 665, ILWU Local 142, UNITE HERE! Local 5 and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 480.
“Are you saying that workers that risked their lives during the pandemic do not deserve to be supported with a modest increase in wage while you take one yourselves? Hawaiʻi's workers await your response,” labor leaders wrote.
