Advocates rally at the Capitol to demand higher minimum wage
About 50 living wage advocates rallied at the state Capitol Wednesday evening to push lawmakers to raise the the hourly wage to $17, from the current minimum of $10.10. The average full-time Hawaiʻi resident making minimum wage makes only $21,000 a year.
Signs read, “Don’t make me leave Hawaiʻi,” echoing the frustration from Faith Action for Community Equity and Raise Up Hawaiʻi and other advocates for raising the minimum.
Nearly half of Hawaiʻi families making minimum wage struggle, according to the Aloha United Way, and the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) calculates that a resident with no children needs to earn at least $17.63 an hour to make ends meet.
Nicole Woo, senior policy analyst for Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, gave a PowerPoint presentation on planning for this year’s session of the legislature in a meeting shortly after the rally. She noted that some local businesses are expected to oppose the wage increase.
“When we talk about $17 or $15, we’re not talking about raising it tomorrow or next year, ” Woo said. “We’re talking about taking regular steps by $1 or $1.50 a year.”
Woo said this would help businesses prepare if the wage increase passes.