After strong campaigning by Fight for $15, SEIU and their allies, Maryland is apparently heading for an increase in the state minimum wage to $15 an hour – despite GOP Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto threat. That’s because both houses of the Democratic-run, and now notably more-progressive, legislature passed the $15 minimum wage hike by veto-proof margins. The March 18 Senate vote was 32-15 on party lines. The House of Delegates voted for it two weeks before, 96-44. Both bills envision raising the wage to $15 in stages, by 2025. Maryland would thus join what is now a large number of states, plus major cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the Twin Cities and San Francisco, that have gotten tired of waiting for the GOP-run Congress to raise the federal hourly minimum of $7.25, and gone ahead and done it themselves. The federal minimum hasn’t budged in a decade.
- Mark Gruenberg, PAI Staff Writer. photo: 1199 SEIU Maryland/DC members and community activists in Annapolis showing their support for $15 minimum wage on March 14
- Mark Gruenberg, PAI Staff Writer. photo: 1199 SEIU Maryland/DC members and community activists in Annapolis showing their support for $15 minimum wage on March 14