‘Republicrats’ failed workers by not raising minimum wage
The speaker of the state House, the Senate president, the governor, and even the minority leader all promised an increase to Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage law at the beginning of the recent legislative session. The Legislature didn’t live up to that commitment. For the next 19 months, our state’s minimum wage will remain at a disgraceful $10.10 per hour.
On Jan. 24, at the beginning of this year’s legislative session, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser published my commentary in which I indicated that, by the end of the session, we would be able to distinguish the Republicratic legislators from the Democratic legislators (“Hawaiʻi Democrats should raise minimum wage significantly,” Island Voices). A Republicrat is a Republican who gets elected to the legislature as a Democrat.
The leadership of the House of Representatives let our workers down: they include Scott Saiki, Mark Nakashima, Della Au Belatti, Dee Morikawa, Tom Brower, Aaron Johanson and Sylvia Luke.
I take no pleasure in calling them out for their failure in this important matter.