Fight for $15 Maryland Coalition Statement on Moore Administration Legislation to Strengthen Maryland’s Minimum Wage Law

In today’s State of the State, Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced his legislative agenda, including a measure to accelerate increases in the state’s minimum wage to  $15 per hour by October of this year. His proposal includes indexing the state’s basement wage to the Consumer Price Index so that it doesn’t lose value over time and helps businesses to plan. Under current law, workers earning the minimum wage will not reach $15 an hour until 2025. The wage now stands at $13.25 an hour.

The Fight for $15 Maryland Coalition today released the following statement about Governor Moore’s proposed legislation:

“We applaud Governor Wes Moore for standing with working people and making it a priority to accelerate increases in the state’s minimum wage. The governor recognizes that  hourly-wage workers can’t wait two more years to reach the $15 wage. By accelerating increases in the minimum wage, legislators have the ability to raise wages for 9 percent of workers, benefiting approximately 217,000 Marylanders. Inflation has fallen hard on working people who have seen their purchasing power decline. We need to act now to help them build economic security.

“We agree strongly with Governor Moore that the state should index our minimum wage to inflation, so wages can automatically keep pace with the cost of living moving forward. More than a third of states already have this in place, and it’s time for Maryland to follow suit and give both workers and employers wage predictability. Our organizations will make indexing a priority and will mobilize their members to advocate for this critical policy. Finally, we are counting on legislators to have the minimum wage apply to many workers who have been excluded – tipped restaurant workers, young people, and agricultural and seasonal workers. They, too, need to receive a fair wage for their work.”

The Fight for $15 Maryland Coalition is made up of labor unions, community groups and religious groups all working to make life better for workers and their families.