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.
Raise Up Hawaiʻi comments on deferment of minimum wage increase
In a press release, the coalition said it is “deeply disappointed” that the legislature failed to increase the 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.
For good of isles’ workers, $15 minimum wage is imperative
$15 per hour, while short of a subsistence or living wage, is a meaningful step that will truly help working people—and rev up the economy.
A living wage will help keep families here
Hawaiʻi’s workers need a minimum wage that keeps up with our cost of living. A living wage can help stop the flight of good people from their home. Lawmakers can make it happen.
Business report: new figures on Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage
The main takeaway from the report: low-wage workers plow every penny back into the economy, so giving them a raise should stimulate economic activity.
Minimum wage increase could help over 200,000 workers, report says
The report disputes the argument opponents of a minimum wage increase make that a wage increase could hurt small businesses in Hawaiʻi. It says that minimum wage workers would likely spend their additional income in ways that boost the local economy.
Minimum wage should rise to no less than $15
We deserve at least $17, and so anything less than $15 is completely unacceptable.
Businesses can afford to pay living wage
From the day we opened, I guaranteed a $20 an hour minimum wage. I had no capital or loans from wealthy family members to fall back on; just a simple belief that no one who works full time should be unable to live or cover the basics.
Hawaiʻi workers need a higher minimum wage
Yes, a higher minimum wage would make it harder for me to compete for good attendants. I expect what I pay will have to keep rising. Nonetheless, I’d like people to be less strapped all the time, as mine are.
Minimum wage increase among hundreds of bills moving forward
The issue is now headed for conference committee, because the House passed another minimum wage bill with no details as to how much and when it would increase.
Heed the poets when thinking of Hawaiʻi’s most needy
On TV, Hawaiʻi is shown as paradise with palm trees, spotless beaches and hula dancers. However, what isn’t seen is the homelessness, the multiple jobs families need to get by, and people struggling to make ends meet.
The call for a living wage
Raising the minimum wage is about dignity and it is about justice. It is clear from more than a century of Catholic teaching that labor is at the heart of the social question, at the heart of human dignity.
The link between low wages and high housing costs
There are two sides to the affordable housing problem. One is building more units and the other is the low income of our residents.
Livable wage can sustain our economy
At $10.10 an hour, our low-income workers clearly do not have enough to buy food and pay rent—in short, to be “self-sufficient.”
Senate committee approves plan to hike minimum wage for Hawaiʻi workers, state employees
Increasing the minimum wage is a priority for the Hawaiʻi Democratic Party, which passed a resolution last year advocating for a living wage in Hawaiʻi.
Hawaiʻi’s workers need living wages
The Hawaiʻi legislature will soon decide on two minimum wage bills, SB789 SD2 and HB1191 HD1. These bills should be supported, but with amendments that reflect Hawaiʻi’s high cost of living. Both should have a $17 minimum wage.
Advocates urge larger minimum wage hike
During previous hearings in the House, the bill received significant opposition from business interests, but substantially more support from others. Supporters cited research that increases to minimum wage does not substantially harm businesses—often quite the contrary.
Locals argue for higher wages
“Wages have just not kept up with the cost of living. Even with the last increase to $10.10, I see more and more people becoming homeless because they cannot afford a place to stay.”