Raising minimum wage is imperative
Raising the minimum wage to a living wage has been a top priority for the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi for years.
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?
Proposal to raise Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage to $12 remains alive
Many who wrote testimony in support of the wage increase called for an amendment to raise the hourly minimum to $17 by 2026.
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.
$12 minimum wage hike clears key Senate committees
The bill’s supporters want the minimum wage increased to $17 an hour by 2026—a hike they say is also good for businesses because it boosts consumer spending.
Full COVID recovery requires raising the minimum wage
Economic impact payments—checks—will help, but they are not enough to truly set us on a path to an equitable recovery. For that, we need more targeted measures. One key action is long overdue—raising the federal minimum wage.
Voters agree—raising the federal minimum wage to $15 is good for everyone
Recent polling confirms that swing district voters overwhelmingly side with workers leading the fight to raise the federal minimum wage to $15. Across all demographics, voters confirm that this is a policy that is good for workers and good for their communities.
‘They take the early bus … for us’
The moral and civic renewal we need requires a radical reframing of the terms of economic debate. Our economic foundations must be centered around people—not markets.
How the low minimum wage helps rich companies
Low wages benefit employers at the expense of both workers and taxpayers.
Speaker Saiki must stand with workers
For three straight legislative sessions, 2018–20, Saiki and the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives have betrayed the Democratic Party’s commitment to a $15+ minimum wage.
Low minimum wage perpetuates systematic racism in Hawaiʻi
One policy clearly perpetuating systematic racism in Hawaiʻi is the state’s oppressively low minimum wage.
Essential workers today, with starvation wages tomorrow?
It is one of the shameful ironies of our time that Hawaiʻi continues to fail to address the injustice that many workers deemed essential do not receive a wage that meets their essential needs.
Minimum wage hikes have had little long-lasting effect on business
Most companies already pay above minimum wage and those that have had to raise pay came through it relatively unscathed.
Hawaiʻi lawmakers to take pay cut if minimum wage isn’t $15
Ruderman and Wildberger said this week that they will each pledge $4,000 of their salary to charity unless the minimum wage is at least $15 an hour.
Our keiki also need a $17 minimum wage
How can I blame my friends for leaving as quickly as they are when the legislature is considering only $13 in four years?
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.
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.