Minimum wage hike bill advances, but critics say it’s still not enough
A bill to hike Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage is moving to the full house, but critics say it still falls short of what a person needs to live in the 50th state.
Civil Cafe 2020 legislative preview rehashes minimum wage, homelessness
While it is terrific that state legislators acknowledge that the cost of living is out of reach for most Hawaiʻi residents, it is also clear that the proposed $13 an hour is not a “livable wage.”
Hawaiʻi’s economy will benefit from a higher minimum wage
Opponents can only make disingenuous arguments that rely on irrelevant information.
Hawaiʻi low-income earners could lose aid under proposed federal SNAP rule change
The rule would prevent Hawaiʻi—with its high cost of living—from waiving federal income and asset requirements to qualify for SNAP.
Longtime social justice champion celebrates well-deserved retirement
Victor Geminiani, a longtime champion for Hawaiʻi’s poor and vulnerable, retires.
Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center founder-exec director to retire
Hawaiʻi Appleseed announces the retirement of Victor Geminiani, its co-founder and longtime executive director, after a 50-year public interest law career.
Champion of legal aid to Hawaiʻi’s poor announces retirement
After a 50-year career in public interest law and advocacy, Hawaiʻi Appleseed co-director Victor Geminiani announced on Wednesday that he will retire Aug. 31.
Advocates urge larger minimum wage hike
The Senate Committee on Labor will hold a public hearing today regarding a bill that would increase minimum wage rates throughout the state.
WAM sends minimum wage bill to Senate
The Senate’s Ways and Means committee passed Senate Bill 789 on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, setting it up for a final vote on the Senate floor.
Raise the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour
In a state that has one of the highest costs of living and lowest unemployment rates, it’s time for lawmakers to put things back in balance for workers.
Hawaiʻi income stats climb, but so does the cost of living
When taking into account the cost of living—especially housing costs—Hawaiʻi has the 10th highest poverty rate in the country.
Should we change the minimum wage to a living wage?
Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage workers are faced with an impossible challenge: dealing with the biggest gap nationally between a state’s minimum wage and the basic earnings required to meet the local cost of living.
Shifting salaries
Federal overtime rules were established to protect employees from being asked to work long hours without pay, yet low-wage workers doing managerial, administrative or professional duties as salaried employees could be taken advantage of by a loophole in the overtime requirement.
Many remain unemployed despite lots of job openings
The Appleseed report provides a broader vision on how to break the downward cycle: get more money into the hands of poor people, because they usually live so close to the financial edge that the smallest problem can lead to a crisis.