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 in Legislation
Raise Up Hawaiʻi estimates over 88,000 workers currently earn minimum wage.
Supporters rallied in events across the islands to urge lawmakers to agree on a final version by Friday. If they do not agree on terms, the measure will be killed. The sticking point has been how much the raises will be and how fast they will be implemented.
Efforts to raise minimum wage and expand major tax credit at risk of falling through.
At a Labor for Living Wages rally at the Hawai’i State Capitol on Wednesday, Kona Rep. Jeanne Kapela said current wages cannot begin to satisfy the state’s highest cost-of-living standards in the nation.
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.”
The vast majority of those who testified at Monday’s LCA meeting favored the 2026 date for the increase, with 113 testifying in support of the 2026 date and 11 individuals testifying in support of the 2028 date. Five favored a Hawai‘i Chamber of Commerce proposal for $15 an hour by 2027, and 11 favored no increase at all.
Labor Chair Onishi and House leadership are about to let SB2018 die without a hearing in the House, demonstrating a carelessness toward tens of thousands of struggling Hawaiʻi workers.
While some of the opposition was from the perspective of business owners worried about the increased labor costs, most were concerned that the bill does not do enough.
