Skip to main content

By Sarah Ruppenthal
Maui News, Jan 3, 2015

For an estimated 37,000 workers across the state, 2015 brings new change - 50 cents to be exact - as Hawaii's minimum wage increased from $7.25 to $7.75 per hour on New Year's Day. And that's just the first step in an incremental, four-step wage increase signed into law by Gov. Neil Abercrombie in May. Hawaii is now inching toward a $10.10 hourly minimum wage, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2018. In the interim, the state's minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $8.50 an hour on Jan. 1, 2016, then bump up to $9.25 a year later.

This is good news for low-wage workers, including those on Maui. ...

Maui Chamber of Commerce President Pamela Tumpap could not be reached Friday but in "The Chamber View" column in The Maui News on March 8 she expressed her opposition to minimum-wage hikes. ...

However, a June 2014 survey published by the American Sustainable Business Council and Business for a Fair Minimum Wage found that 61 percent of small business owners nationwide supported a phased-in increase of the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. The survey also suggested that small business owners believe a higher minimum wage would boost consumer purchasing power and contribute to lower employee turnover, increased productivity and overall customer satisfaction. ...

Read more