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.
Advocates say the raise is badly needed in a state that routinely tops lists for most expensive housing and cost of living.
The measure passed with a vote of 48-3 over in the House. Rep. Jeanne Kapela said it is well past time to give Hawaiʻi workers a living wage.
Hawaiʻi is poised to establish ostensibly the highest statewide minimum wage in the nation, raising it to $18 an hour by 2028, under legislation that state lawmakers sent to Gov. David Ige.
The argument against the minimum wage hike was that it would hit small businesses hard. But supporters said paying people more will allow them to put more money back into the economy.
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.
Advocates say an $18 minimum wage translates to $16,000 more in annual earnings for minimum wage workers. Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage of $10.10 has not increased since 2018.
In the conference committee Friday, the Senate’s latest draft was approved. Boosting the current minimum wage from $10.10 to $12 an hour starting Oct. 1, 2022 then increasing it to $14 in 2024, $16 in 2026, and $18 in 2028.
Hawaiʻi Appleseed Executive Director Gavin Thornton said this is a historic moment and "huge leap" in making Hawai’i’s wage livable.
House Bill 2510 also makes a state earned income tax credit refundable.
