Hawaiʻi minimum wage bill advances despite criticisms

Advocates for workers also opposed the bill.

“The minimum wage increase proposed by this bill will help people, but not nearly quickly enough,” Gavin Thornton, executive director of the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, said at the hearing.

Thornton advocated for an immediate increase of $2 or $3 an hour followed by smaller step-ups reaching $18 by 2026.

Carolyn Eaton told the committee that Hawaiʻi’s hourly minimum wage, which was last increased in 2018, should rise to $18 by 2026 as called for in the Senate bill.

“Hardworking families and individuals deserve this action after so many years without a meaningful raise,” she said.

Even some of the support for HB 2510 was derisive. “Let’s just say I kind of sort of support it, as it’s acceptably awful,” Dave Kisor said in written testimony.