PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - Governor Tom Wolf and democratic lawmakers proposed an increase to the state's minimum wage Wednesday.
The bill would increase the wage from the federal minimum of $7.25 to $12 an hour, and eliminate the tip minimum wage, currently $2.83 an hour.
"A tipped wage is not fair to the workers who depend on tips. It’s not fair to consumers. It’s not fair to all of us who are paying for public benefits because these workers still need public assistance,"Wolf said at the bill's introduction Wednesday.
He says tipping would continue, but workers would be less dependent on them.
"Currently the median income for a tipped restaurant worker in Pennsylvania is $11,563," Philadelphia restaurateur Ben Miller said. "73 percent of tipped restaurant workers are women and 27 percent of those women are moms."
The bill includes annual 50-cent increases that would bring the minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2025
Pennsylvania has been at the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour since 2009.
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