It's Long Past Time to
Raise the Minimum WageAll six states bordering PA have raised their minimum wages. Because of the higher minimum wage, low-wage worker in NY, NJ, and MD earn $3000 more per year than in PA. The last minimum wage increase in PA as in 2009, and it has remained the same for 14 years even as the cost of necessities has increased.
$15 by 2026: Raising the Wage in Pennsylvania
A higher minimum wage will lift family incomes, help working people afford necessities, restore local economies to health, and save tax dollars.
Who are the workers in Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione’s district (SD 2) who would benefit from a $15 minimum wage?
20%
of the workforce
24,000
workers
30%
are over age 40
only 8%
are 19 or younger
76%
are people of color
58%
are women
56%
work full time
40%
have at least some college education
32%
are parents
Senate Bill 12
Comprehensive Modernization of the Minimum Wage
Senator Christine Tartaglione has introduced legislation that will raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $15/hour on Enero 1, 2024 and provide yearly cost of living-adjusted increases thereafter. Additionally, this legislation sets the tipped wage in Pennsylvania to 70% of the minimum wage.
Pennsylvania has not updated its minimum wage since 2006, and as a result, we still maintain the lowest allowable rate in the country. All surrounding states have increased their minimum wage rates, leaving us behind. In 2023, 18 states will increase their minimum wages for workers. 30 states, including many with a lower cost of living, have a higher minimum wage than Pennsylvania. Keeping people in poverty is not how we move the Commonwealth forward.
The current minimum wage of $7.25 is inadequate and, in the midst of inflationary pressure, it is immoral to continue with this baseline rate of pay. In 2022, 63,000 Pennsylvanians survived on the bare minimum and an additional 417,000 Pennsylvanians relied on hourly wages between $7.26 and $12. Vital members of our community, such as childcare, home health, retail, and hospitality workers, who work full-time while making the minimum wage only earn $15,080/year. These are some of the most fundamental jobs in our Commonwealth, yet the compensation for the hard work done by minimum and near-minimum wage earners is not sufficient to afford basic necessities such as rent, transportation, food, and prescriptions. Many are forced to rely on public assistance to get by. The inability of hard-working people to care for their own basic needs, or those of their families, is morally wrong and economically unsound.
My legislation will help raise citizens out of poverty, save state tax dollars as people are less reliant on public assistance, and reinvest a portion of the savings in state-supported childcare and subsidized homecare for seniors and people with disabilities.
Accordingly, my legislation also modernizes protections and enforcement standards in the law, by:
- Providing flexibility to municipalities to set a higher local wage under certain conditions;
- Proteger contra el robo de salarios garantizando que el Departamento de Trabajo e Industria pueda recuperar los salarios y las sanciones por todas las infracciones de la ley, no sólo cuando se presenta una denuncia;
- Aumento de las sanciones pecuniarias por infracciones, que en algunos casos no se actualizan desde 1968;
- Bringing enforcement in line with the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act by allowing workers to receive damages, in addition to unpaid wages; and
- Consagrar por ley que las gratificaciones son propiedad exclusiva del trabajador.
News & Video
Los senadores Tartaglione y Farry presentan un proyecto de ley bipartidista para reforzar la Ley de Salarios Compensatorios de Pensilvania
Filadelfia, PA - 15 de julio 2025 - Los senadores estatales Christine Tartaglione (D-Filadelfia) y Frank Farry (R-Bucks) han presentado el proyecto de ley del Senado 908, la legislación bipartidista para fortalecer la Ley de Salario Predominante de Pensilvania y proteger a los...
El senador Tartaglione aplaude la aprobación en la Cámara de la ley HB 1549, que aumenta el salario mínimo en Pensilvania
Philadelphia, PA − Junio 12, 2025 – Senator Christine Tartaglione (D–2, Philadelphia) issues the following statement following the House passage of HB 1549, legislation sponsored by Representative Dawkins to raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania: “I want to...
Subida salarial del senador Tartaglione
El senador Tartaglione presenta el proyecto de ley 19 del Senado para aumentar el salario mínimo en Pensilvania
Harrisburg, PA − Abril 22, 2025 – State Senator Christine Tartaglione (D–2, Philadelphia) today formally introduced Senate Bill 19, legislation aimed at raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026 and tying future increases to the cost of living. The...
El proyecto de ley 19 del Senado pretende aumentar el salario mínimo en Pensilvania: la senadora Christine Tartaglione se une a nosotros para hablar del tema
It’s been nearly two decades since Pennsylvania has raised its minimum wage. Currently its $7.25 an hour, Senate Bill 19 seeks to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026, with annual cost-of-living adjustments thereafter. Pennsylvania Senator...
Se presenta un proyecto de ley en el Senado de Pensilvania para elevar el salario mínimo a 15 $/hora en 2026
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania senator has introduced a bill designed to raise the Commonwealth's minimum wage to $15 per hour by next year, with annual cost-of-living adjustments thereafter. Senate Bill 19, introduced by Sen. Christine Tartaglione, a Democrat...
El senador Tartaglione anuncia la presentación del proyecto de ley 19 del Senado para aumentar el salario mínimo en Pensilvania
Harrisburg, PA, Marzo 25, 2025 – After nearly two decades of inaction, Senator Christine Tartaglione (D–2) has announced her introduction of Senate Bill 19, a continuing effort to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026, with annual cost-of-living...
Tartaglione presenta una legislación histórica sobre el salario mínimo vital de 20 dólares/hora
Philadelphia, PA − Mayo 24, 2024 − Today, Senate Democratic Whip Christine M. Tartaglione announced the introduction of landmark minimum wage reform legislation to create a “Living Wage” of $20 per hour for all Pennsylvanians. Pennsylvania’s minimum wage has remained...
Respuesta del Senador Tartaglione al discurso del Gobernador Shapiro sobre el presupuesto
Harrisburg, PA − Febrero 6, 2024 − Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Whip Christine Tartaglione released the following statement following Governor Shapiro’s budget address: “The Governor’s address today lays out a roadmap that moves our Commonwealth from being a...
Diecisiete años y contando - Los demócratas del Senado siguen luchando por aumentar el salario mínimo en Pensilvania
Harrisburg, PA – Julio 7, 2023 − Domingo, Julio 9th, marks seventeen years since Pennsylvania lawmakers last raised the minimum wage. On Julio 9th, 2006, Governor Ed Rendell was joined by Senator Christine Tartaglione, Senator Vincent Hughes, and Senator Jay Costa, to...
Concentración y escenificación del salario mínimo
Hughes y Tartaglione celebran el 15º aniversario de la Ley del Salario Mínimo con los líderes del Estado
PHILADELPHIA, Julio 9, 2021 – On the 15th anniversary of the signing, state Sens. Vincent J. Hughes and Christine M. Tartaglione today marked the enactment of Pennsylvania’s last minimum wage legislation with a reenactment and rally with state leaders at the site of...