House and Senate Democrats call for minimum wage increase
Legislation has been awaiting vote in Republican-controlled Senate
Rep. Roni Green June 30, 2026 | 2:17 PM
HARRISBURG, June 30 – As negotiations revolving around the state budget continue, House and Senate Democrats on Tuesday held a rally at the Pennsylvania Capitol calling for a raise in the state’s minimum wage.
This year marks 20 years since the federal government last increased the minimum wage. While states around Pennsylvania have taken steps to raise the wage, Pennsylvania has remined tied to the federal standard. Democrats in the state House have voted to raise the minimum wage three times in the last four years, most recently in March.
That legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Jason Dawkins, which would increase the minimum wage in Pennsylvania to $15 per-hour by 2029, with cost-of-living adjustments thereafter. Since then the bill has languished in the Republican-controlled state Senate, where leaders have declined to call it for a vote.
“At a time when businesses are reaping record profits; at a time when we are creating more millionaires and billionaires than ever before; at a time when inequality continues to grow – now is the time to raise the wage,” Dawkins said. “When you raise the wage, you raise all of us in this commonwealth. If you work hard, you shouldn’t have to worry about your next meal or having a roof over your head. Every Pennsylvanian should be able to go to work and be able to afford to put food on the table.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro has also called on the legislature to increase the state’s minimum wage, and included a $15 minimum wage as part of his state budget proposal.
In the House, state Rep. Roni Green has long championed an increase in the state’s minimum wage, and joined her fellow Democrats on Tuesday in calling for a vote in the state Senate.
“We have parents who are working two or three jobs and still struggling to put food on the table,” Green said. “We have to do better. It is ridiculous! It is ridiculous that we are here yet again – if the Senate Republicans cared, this could be done today – today! Show up, call the vote, and stand up for the people who elected you.”