Gov. Wolf Promotes Higher Minimum Wage For All Pennsylvanians
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Gov. Tom Wolf toured Wigle Whiskey in the Strip District to salute a local company that raised its minimum wage to $10.10 an hour without being required to do so.
"It is time to give Pennsylvania workers a raise," said Mark Meyer, co-owner of the 50-person company.
Meyer said it was the right thing to do.
"We are a small family-owned business, so we understand as well as anybody the challenges of a small business," noted Meyer. "But we also understand the financial pressures on workers today."
The current minimum wage -- $7.25 an hour -- has been stuck at that level since 2009 because neither Congress nor the Pennsylvania General Assembly has raised it.
"No Pittsburgher who works 40 hours a week should be forced to live in poverty, and that's really what $7.25 is -- $15,000 a year before taxes," added Mayor Bill Peduto.
Wolf, who signed an executive order to raise the minimum wage for state workers, said it's immoral for companies not to raises wages.
"You have to treat your workers fairly. There's a moral issue there," said Wolf. "But there's also a practical issue. Makes good business sense. If you treat your workers fairly from the point of view of compensation, you have lower turnover, you have lower training costs. It's easier to recruit people to come and work for you."
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Democratic lawmakers said a majority of state legislators, Republicans and Democrats, support raising the minimum wage, but Republican leaders won't schedule a vote.
"There's an obstructionist mentality among the Republicans in the House and the Senate not to do anything, and that's what's preventing this from happening," said Pennsylvania Sen. Jay Costa, the Senate Democratic leader.
While some say raising the minimum wage results in job losses, Wolf, a former businessman, claims studies prove that's wrong.