Kansas Democrats propose more than doubling state’s $7.25 per hour minimum wage by 2027
A group of Kansas Democrats wants to more than double the state’s minimum wage over the next six years under a bill to be heard by legislators this week.
The state’s current minimum wage is $7.25, the federal minimum. A full-time employee with that wage would make around $15,000 a year before deductions.
“We wanted to be out front on that issue in making sure that we were addressing that while also ensuring that people that live in Kansas can earn a liveable wage,” said Rep. Brandon Woodard, a Lenexa Democrat.
In Woodard’s Johnson County district, $15,000 wouldn’t cover rent or mortgage without assistance. He and four other House Democrats — Reps. Rui Xu, Christina Haswood, Brett Parker and Lindsay Vaughn — hope to increase the minimum to $15 per hour.
Xu, who studied economics, said the group decided to propose a $7.75 increase over six years based on inflation and concern for both workers and their employers.
Hourly workers’ critical role has been highlighted by COVID-19 lockdowns across the country. Many who make minimum wage, like grocery store workers and meat-packers, have continued working on the front lines of the pandemic.
As families experience furloughs and job-loss because of the coronavirus, steps to increase the minimum wage are more important than ever, said Haswood, who struggled as a grocery store worker in college.
“Some weeks, even on a college budget, I would have to go to a plasma center just so I could have gas in my car,” she said. “It’s definitely not making it for single families.”
The sponsors have different opinions on the bill’s prospects in a legislature where both chambers are controlled by a Republican supermajority. Xu said regardless, it will start a conversation in Topeka and across the state about equitable wages. It could also draw the attention of Kansans who don’t align with the Democratic party, but identify with the struggles of living on the minimum wage.
Stilwell Republican Rep. Sean Tarwater, chair of the House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Another Democratic minimum wage bill has been proposed by Rep. Aaron Coleman, of Kansas City, Kansas. It would increase the minimum to $17.25 over 10 years.
Woodard said the group filed its bill separately to “go forward with something that has a realistic chance of starting the conversation,” pointing to Coleman’s rocky start as a state representative. After allegations of sexual misconduct and stalking, Coleman was stripped of committee assignments and will “undergo formal investigative complaints,” Woodard said.
Coleman said he would be open to any increase in minimum wage, but believes Democrats’ push for $15 is outdated.
“We’ve been fighting for $15 for so long that $15 Is no longer adequate,” he said.
Kansas’ minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009, when the federal minimum wage was increased from $6.55 per hour. The state is one of 29 in the country that still follows the federal minimum.
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 10:13 AM.