LANCASTER, PA – December 31, 2024 − Today, Democratic legislators gathered with local business owner Pete Barber, founder and owner of Two Dudes Painting Company, to highlight Pennsylvania’s minimum wage crisis and call on the state legislature to raise the wage in 2025. On January 1, 2025, 21 states across the country will implement higher minimum wages, while Pennsylvania’s rate remains frozen at the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.
“$7.25, $8.25, $10 puts hardworking people in poverty,” said Senator Art Haywood. “This low pay is violation of our dignity. Only state senate republicans block restoring the dignity and respect of hardworking Pennsylvanians. Sign our petition to join the fight for one fair wage of $15 per hour.”
Pennsylvania has not raised its minimum wage since the federal government last increased it in 2009—when $7.25 was worth approximately $10.66 in today’s dollars. State lawmakers, along with business leaders like Barber, agree that workers deserve a wage reflecting the increased cost of living and the value of their labor.
“As a new year approaches, Pennsylvania will start again behind our neighboring states. Our minimum wage is stuck at a dismally low $7.25 per hour,” said Senator-elect Patty Kim. “We are sending a terrible message that we don’t value our workers in Pennsylvania. I think of the single-mom working late shifts to pay for the rising cost of rent or the grandparent working on their feet all day because they cannot afford retirement. This year, let’s catch up with our neighbors like Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia and raise our minimum wage, too.”
“Working families – my neighbors in Lancaster and throughout PA – are struggling to get by right now, and they deserve a government that is on their side,” said Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El. “Let’s raise the wage, and tell our neighbors that we see them, that we see the value of their labor.”
Learn more about the PA Senate Democrats’ commitment to good jobs for every Pennsylvanian here.