Thousands of Maryland workers work full-time but don’t earn enough to make ends meet. That’s why the Fight for $15 Maryland Coalition is calling on the state legislature in Annapolis to stand up for its hard-working people and raise the state’s minimum wage from $9.25 to $15.00 per hour by 2023!
A $15 minimum wage means a better Maryland for all of us. Raising the wage would lift thousands of families out of poverty, create new customers and profits for local businesses, and strengthen our neighborhoods.
Kara from The Arc Central Chesapeake Region did a great testimony, she is a Direct Service Professional (DSP) on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She spoke freely about her passion for the work she does daily with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, her struggles as a single mother and tough choices she has had to make. She supports the Fight for $15.00!
The committee room and hallway were packed with advocates for the Fight for $15 bill (HB166) hearing. We are grateful to Del. Diana Fennell and other sponsors for putting together a bill that includes provisions for DD Community Services funding; to ensure that Direct Support jobs do not become minimum wage jobs.
WHY WE FIGHT FOR $15.00
A $15 minimum wage means a better Maryland for all of us:
- Raising the minimum wage to $15 for all workers will benefit over 700,000 households in Maryland.
- A $15 minimum wage would benefit hundreds of thousands of kids. Over 300,000 children have at least one parent that would be affected by a $15 minimum wage in Maryland.
- Raising the wage won’t hurt the economy: it will grow it! The most rigorous research shows minimum wage increases do not reduce employment. In Seattle, the first major city to adopt a $15 minimum wage, the region’s unemployment rate hit an eight-year low.
- For small businesses, raising the wage will bring in new customers, raising businesses’ bottom lines and increasing profits.