All tagged Systemic Racism
The wage will increase to $18 by 2028, while many Hawaii taxpayers will get one-time checks for $300.
HB2510 will boost annual incomes for low-wage workers by thousands of dollars over the next 6 years, strengthening the economy while alleviating poverty.
Don’t make our lowest-wage earners wait and wonder any longer. They need and deserve this modest raise.
It’s only 60 days long, but Hawaiʻi’s legislative session this year was a monumental affair featuring some self-reform, historic spending and a return to in-person public participation, all largely in the wake of a bribery scandal, a budget deficit and peak coronavirus infections.
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.
“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.
After months of back and forth, the state House and Senate reached an agreement on the $18 minimum hourly wage in a conference committee session Friday.
Working families and our economy have been suffering for decades with wages that fail to come close to a livable standard. Fortunately both chambers are finally acting like this deficit needs to be closed. We need them to stand by their promises to workers and our economy, and finally push this bill over the finish line and on to the governor’s desk.
For too many families living in Hawaiʻi, the answer to, “How’re you doing?” is, “Just hanging on.”