Pennsylvania's minimum wage likely to remain frozen for yet another year

There’s bipartisan support in Harrisburg for increasing the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $15, but political observers say it’s not likely to happen anytime soon.

“We're trying to find that sweet spot where we can actually get a decent product that … can go to the floor and be passed,” said state Senator Devlin Robinson, an Allegheny County Republican who chairs the committee where wage proposals have been idling.

Pennsylvania last raised its minimum wage 15 years ago, while all of its neighbors have given workers increases since then.

Robinson says progress has been frozen by debate over the wage amount – some favor raising it to $20 an hour, while other proposals would cap it at $15 – and a disagreement over whether an increase should be statewide or regional.

“You know [wages in] Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are going to be different than, say, Tioga County,” Robinson said. “Trying to get everyone on board with the same thing is rather difficult.”

Last May, Republican Senator Dan Laughlin of Erie introduced a bill to raise the wage to $15 an hour, but it’s been untouched in Robinson's committee. Democrats in the state House passed their own wage bill last July. That legislation has also languished in Robinson’s Labor and Industry Committee. Both proposals would raise the wage to $11 per hour, with $2 hourly increases over the following two years.

Robinson campaign

Laughlin sits on that committee as well, and both he and Robinson are running with Democratic challengers this fall. His office did not make him available for comment in time for publication.

That might seem like a recipe for action on an issue where some polling suggests there is broad consensus among voters. But some observers believe the GOP-controlled Senate would kill a wage bill even if Robinson’s committee moved it to the floor.

“The Republican leadership in the Senate has been very clear that they're not going to put up the minimum wage for a vote, certainly in this session,” said Democratic strategist and former state House leader Mike Veon. “There's virtually no hope.”

The Senate’s top Republican, President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, could not be reached for comment. But Robinson said Veon is “on the outside of the building and obviously is not part of these discussions.

“On a bill of this magnitude, the preferred way to advance it is to have an agreement in place before starting it through the legislative process and leadership would be involved in those discussions.”

Tipped worker wages

Another issue Robinson says is barring progress: what to do for the tipped workers who currently are guaranteed a minimum of just $2.83 per hour.

Robinson says hospitality groups have opposed efforts to increase the wage. The Pennsylvania Lodging and Restaurant Association has opposed the current bills, saying changes to tipped wages would have a dramatic effect on the industry.

Increasing the wage for bartenders, servers and others who rely on customer tips would lead to “increased menu prices, the addition of service charges… fewer available working hours, and fewer job opportunities,” said PRLA President Joe Massaro.

Other states such as Washington and California have increased the minimum wage and included tipped workers at up to $15 per hour to much success, said Stephen Herzenberg, an economist and executive director of the union-backed Keystone Research Center. Plus, he said, tipped workers experience less sexual harassment as a result, citing a worker study from the Restaurant Opportunities Center.

“When you're paid slave wages, you have to be subservient so you get a decent tip,” Herzenberg said. Women in particular sometimes deal with egregious behavior from male customers or supervisors in order to make a living wage, he said.

Supporters who have watched as neighboring states like New Jersey, Maryland and Ohio raise their own minimum wages are frustrated at the deadlock in Harrisburg. “The majority Republican caucus in the Senate doesn't view an increase in the minimum wage as a priority,” Herzenberg said. “It's as simple as that.”