Philly Leader

Gov. Tom Wolf took yet another step toward raising the minimum wage for workers in Pennsylvania last month.

Wolf amended a previous executive order to accelerate the process of bringing the minimum wage for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania employees to $15. 

He also issued a public call for the minimum wage to increase to $15 for all workers on Twitter.

“I'm calling for an increase to $12/hr with a path to $15/hr for all PA workers,” he tweeted.

The governor and his administration have been making wage increases a priority during his time in office. In 2016, he signed an executive order that has now been modified twice. Now, his latest amendment will accelerate the process by which government workers will have a minimum wage of $15 by Jan. 31. 

"Increases in the minimum wage raise employee morale, productivity and work quality, while lowering turnover and training costs. Accelerating the increase to $15 will better align worker salaries with the current cost of living, while providing even greater cost and efficiency savings for state government," Wolf said.

Pennsylvania is not alone in experiencing wage increases. Workers across the U.S. are demanding higher wages and more benefits as the U.S. goes through a labor shortage. 

Though the minimum wage is being raised for government workers in Pennsylvania, the state as a whole has a lot of catching up to do. The minimum wage of $7.25 is the lowest in the nation. Six bordering states already have minimum wages that are higher than Pennsylvania's, creating a vacuum of talent from the state. 

Wolf has called on Pennsylvania lawmakers to follow in the footsteps of the commonwealth and raise the minimum wage across the board for all employees in Pennsylvania. 

So far, no bills to raise the minimum wage across the entire workforce have gained traction.