FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 10, 2026
Contact: Kirstin Snow, Communications Director, snow@pennpolicy.org
Pennsylvania Policy Center’s Executive Director, Felicity A. Williams, Esq., Joins Senators Haywood, Costa, Hughes, Tartaglione, Kim, in Calling for an Immediate Senate Vote to Raise the Wage This Budget Season!
HARRISBURG, PA— Pennsylvania Policy Center Executive Director Felicity A. Williams, Esq., joined Senator Art Haywood, Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, Chairman Senator Vincent Hughes, Senator Christine Tartaglione, Senator Patty Kim, Majority Leader Matt Bradford, Representative Napoleon Nelson, and other advocates today in calling on the Pennsylvania Senate to immediately take up and vote on legislation to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage.
With Pennsylvania’s minimum wage still frozen at $7.25 an hour, the same rate in place since 2009, speakers emphasized that working families cannot afford another year of delay and urged Senate leadership to act before the conclusion of budget negotiations.
Speakers included:
- Senator Art Haywood
- Senator Jay Costa
- Senator Vincent Hughes
- Senator Christine Tartaglione
- Senator Patty Kim
- Majority Leader Bradford
- Representative Nelson
Senator Haywood: “Senate Republicans have no excuse for continuing to deny hardworking people the pay and dignity they deserve. It is time for them to stand with working families and cast a vote for a fair, livable wage. Small businesses can even get a tax credit to help cover the cost if leadership will stop blocking the bill. We have the votes. We demand a vote.”
Felicity A. Williams, Esq., on Raising the Wage: “Pennsylvania has an affordability crisis, in part because we also have a wage crisis.
Across our Commonwealth, people are working hard, doing everything right, and still struggling to make ends meet because their paychecks have not kept pace with the rising costs of housing, groceries, health care, child care, and transportation.
Today, Pennsylvania’s minimum wage remains stuck at just $7.25 an hour – since 2009. Research shows that a single adult in Pennsylvania with no children needs over $23 an hour just to meet basic needs. That gap tells the story. The question before us is not whether we can close the gap overnight. The question is whether we are willing to start closing it at all.
At Pennsylvania Policy Center, we believe work should provide a pathway to economic security, not a permanent struggle for survival. Raising the minimum wage won’t solve every challenge facing Pennsylvania families, but it is one of the most immediate and meaningful actions lawmakers can take to ensure that work is rewarded with dignity, stability, and the opportunity to get ahead.
The Pennsylvania House has acted. After 17 years of inaction, workers deserve a vote to raise the wage. NOW IS THE TIME for the Senate to do their job and vote YES to raise PA’s minimum wage.
We are grateful for Senator Haywood’s leadership and for the growing coalition of workers, advocates, faith leaders, and elected officials who are standing together to ensure that every Pennsylvanian who works hard has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead.”
WHY THIS MATTERS: There is dignity in hard work. Every Pennsylvanian who cares for our children, stocks our shelves, prepares our food, cleans our hospitals, or keeps our communities running deserves a wage that reflects the value of their labor. Yet Pennsylvania’s minimum wage has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009 — far below what is needed to afford basic necessities.
No full-time worker should live in poverty.
Raising the minimum wage is both a moral and economic imperative. A meaningful wage increase will help working families achieve greater stability, reduce financial hardship, and strengthen local economies as workers spend more in their own communities. It will also help Pennsylvania remain competitive with neighboring states that have already raised their minimum wages. Fair wages can reduce turnover, improve productivity, and strengthen businesses and communities alike.
The Pennsylvania House has already passed legislation to raise the minimum wage, yet the measure continues to await Senate action despite broad public support and growing economic pressures facing working families across the Commonwealth.
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