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.
All tagged Economic Health
Hawaiʻi enacted the nation’s first statewide $18 minimum wage law, with Gov. David Ige’s signature of a bill aimed at fighting poverty among the islands’ workers.
Don’t make our lowest-wage earners wait and wonder any longer. They need and deserve this modest raise.
After two years of COVID-induced budget cuts, the state legislature took advantage of a rebounding economy and federal relief funding to enact an ambitious agenda.
With his signature, House Bill 2510 would increase minimum wage, improve major tax credit.
“People should be able to afford their basic needs on 40 hours a week,” said Nate Hix, the director of Living Wage Hawaii, an advocacy group that has been pushing for a higher minimum wage.
Advocates say the raise is badly needed in a state that routinely tops lists for most expensive housing and cost of living.
The measure passed with a vote of 48-3 over in the House. Rep. Jeanne Kapela said it is well past time to give Hawaiʻi workers a living wage.
Hawaiʻi is poised to establish ostensibly the highest statewide minimum wage in the nation, raising it to $18 an hour by 2028, under legislation that state lawmakers sent to Gov. David Ige.
The argument against the minimum wage hike was that it would hit small businesses hard. But supporters said paying people more will allow them to put more money back into the economy.
