Posted on 01/23/25
| News Source: WMAR2NEWS
A pair of lawmakers are proposing an increase to Maryland's minimum wage, phasing in a raise from $15 an hour to $20 an hour over two years.
"The minimum wage in Maryland is not enough to meet the cost of living. All working people deserve to be able to earn enough where they work to be able to feed their families and afford a place to live," said Delegate Adrian Boafo, a Democrat from Montgomery County.
Delegate Adrian Boafo claimed that if Governor Wes Moore's bill to accelerate the minimum wage to $15 an hour during his first year in office tied the wage to inflation like the governor proposed, the minimum wage would be much higher than it currently is.
"If we would have done that, we would have been at about $23, $24 an hour what we're saying is let's phase in five more dollars by 2028," said Boafo during the press conference.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage inflation calculator, Boafo's number is inaccurate.
The calculator is showing less than a dollar an hour increase over the two years since the bill was introduced.
Along with it, the Delegate and Senate sponsor Cory McCray would end how tipped workers are paid and taxed.
Making it so servers and waiters make the state minimum plus whatever tips they receive.
Also, excusing them from the state income tax, claiming it could help the state's financial situation.
"Revenue coming into the state from income taxes, from all workers, getting a raise and tipped workers getting a significant raise far exceeds any cost to the state as the result of a tax credit," said Saru Jayaraman, the president of One Fair Wage.
Tipped workers from areas around the state say their current paychecks don't meet enough to cover the necessities.
"Living on the sub-minimum wage and relying on tips is incredibly unstable," said Khadija Sheriff a tipped worker. "Our rent and bills don't fluctuate with the economy but our tips do."
Blake Vincent, a server from Washington D.C. says with his minimum wage plus tips set up in the district, he makes a little over $30 an hour.
"Making a full minimum wage with tips on top allows me the reliability to plan for my future," said Vincent.
The proposal is to put this to a vote.
Marylanders would decide after the legislature sets the guardrails of the wage increase.
First, it has to get through the House and Senate where Republicans have already come out against it.
"Dead on arrival, it's got no chance at all," said Senator Stephen Hershey from Caroline, Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne's Counties.
If the bill passes, it'll be on the ballot in 2026.
It has not been introduced into the legislature as of the posting of this story.