May 19, 2022 - Pittsburgh, PA
Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Jennifer Berrier today joined lawmakers and employees of Bar Marco in downtown Pittsburgh to call for an end to the exploitation of workers currently allowed by the commonwealth's embarrassingly low minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, and to highlight Governor Wolf's minimum wage proposal that stands to benefit thousands of Pennsylvanians and their families."Right now, Pennsylvania's minimum wage allows for the legal exploitation of workers," said Berrier. "The lowest-paid Pennsylvanians are compensated for their hard work with poverty-level pay - a measly $7.25 an hour, where the minimum wage has sat untouched for more than a decade. It is a wage far below the threshold that we as Pennsylvanians should be endorsing as fair, so we are renewing our call for the General Assembly to finally stand up for workers and take action on raising Pennsylvania's minimum wage."Governor Tom Wolf's plan proposes raising Pennsylvania's minimum wage to $12 per hour by July 1, 2022, with a pathway to $15 per hour by 2028. The proposal will help workers recover the purchasing power lost since the minimum wage was set at $7.25 per hour to match the federal minimum wage more than a decade ago. According to the Keystone Research Center, if the minimum wage had kept pace with productivity growth since the late 1960s, it would be more than $24 per hour today in Pennsylvania.List of Speakers:Jennifer Berrier, Labor and Industry SecretaryEmily Kinkead, Pennsylvania House of RepresentativesAndrew Heffner, General Manager Bar MarcoJustin Steel, Owner Bar MarcoShelby Ciarrallo, Events Manager Bar MarcoLarisa Mednis, Restauraunt Opportunities Center
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