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 Living Wage
Research shows that, of the 88,000 minimum wage workers in Hawaiʻi, the majority are female, over 25 years old, and not trainees.
Our legislators allowed a raise for themselves but declined to vote on a living wage for the working people of Hawaiʻi, many of whom work two or three jobs.
$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.
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.
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.
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.
We deserve at least $17, and so anything less than $15 is completely unacceptable.
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.
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.
