Posted: | December 12, 2012 04:40 PM |
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From: | Senator Christine M. Tartaglione |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Co-Sponsorship: Cost-of-Living Adjustment |
In the near future, I plan to reintroduce legislation, formerly S.B. 235 of 2011-2012, which would provide for a cost-of-living adjustment to Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage law. For several decades, wages of low and middle income workers have remained fairly stagnant, while wages of the highest paid workers have increased steadily. This has caused growing disparity among the state’s wealthiest and poorest citizens. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there were 3.4 million hourly wage workers in Pennsylvania in 2011. Of those individuals receiving hourly wages, 97,000 were paid at the Pennsylvania minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour. Among minimum wage earners, 69,000 were women. Increasing the state’s minimum wage rate by an annual cost-of-living adjustment according to the Consumer Price Index will avoid future years of decline in purchasing power. Not only will higher wages benefit employees and their families, but also, they will encourage more spending, which will prompt job creation. On December 3, 2012, the New Jersey General Assembly passed legislation to increase the state’s minimum wage rate from $7.25 to $8.50 per hour with an annual adjustment according to the Consumer Price Index. By raising the minimum wage rate in Pennsylvania, we will provide a much needed boost to our economy, and we will keep our wages in alignment with our neighboring states. Senators who co-sponsored this legislation previously include Washington, Fontana, Kasunic, Wozniak, Kitchen, Solobay, Costa, Stack and Farnese. |
Introduced as SB326