With new leaders in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties, there's a new sense of working together. They're using this to urge the state to increase the minimum wage.
Twelve Democratic leaders and two Republicans from Southeastern Pennsylvania, where almost half the state's population lives, are joining forces to push for a $15 minimum wage. This is one of their first major collaborations since Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and others took office.
Pennsylvania has the lowest minimum wage of its surrounding states. Even West Virginia and Ohio, known for being Republican strongholds, have raised their minimum wage to $8.75 and $10.45, respectively.
The top executives of Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties wrote a letter this month to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and legislative leaders to support raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. They stated that it would benefit everyone.
The executives added in their March 22 letter that despite the assumption that an increase only impacts teenagers or other younger workers, research has shown that those affected by a minimum-wage increase represent a diverse group across different age groups and races.
Signatories include Parker, all of the county commissioners from Bucks and Montgomery Counties, as well as the entire Delaware County Council and the two Democratic commissioners from Chester County.
While Democrats supporting a raise in the minimum wage isn’t new, the collaboration between counties is. Philadelphia has long been a Democratic stronghold, and the party has controlled Montgomery County for more than a decade. But Bucks, Chester, and Delaware Counties flipped to Democratic control in 2019 — making agreement among Southeastern Pennsylvania leaders more likely.
The support on the minimum wage from Republican county commissioners helps make the pitch to Republican leaders in Harrisburg, who control the state Senate.
Parker has called intergovernmental collaboration one of her top priorities, as well as raising the minimum wage.
The four collar counties and Philadelphia sometimes work together on transportation issues regarding the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and became more collaborative during the covid-19 pandemic. The group of leaders is working on the issue of minimum wage now, because it’s a “really important issue to the growth and sustainability of this whole area.”
Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, said, “We are all struggling to find people to work” in county jobs.
Counties usually advocate at the state level through their involvement in the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, or they’ll lobby lawmakers individually.
Philadelphia and the surrounding counties are working together to raise the minimum wage to help their residents handle the increasing cost of living. For example, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, the “living wage” to afford housing and meet basic needs in each of these counties is more than $22 per hour for a single person with no children.
If the state were to increase the minimum wage, about one in three workers over 40 in Southeastern Pennsylvania would receive a pay raise. Black and Hispanic workers are disproportionately affected by the current $7.25 minimum wage in the state.
The leaders explained that the local cost of living often makes the $7.25 minimum wage seem even lower in many areas. This puts a financial strain on Pennsylvania's families, leaving little money for essential expenses, and makes it difficult to save or invest for the future. They believe that raising the minimum wage would benefit both the residents and the state's future.
