Pennsylvania

Pa. Democrats call on GOP state Senate leaders to raise minimum wage • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Published

1 year ago

January 21, 2025

Pa. Democrats call on GOP state Senate leaders to raise minimum wage • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Twenty one states raised their minimum wages on Jan. 1, but Pennsylvania was not among them.

The minimum wage, the lowest hourly wage employers can legally pay, has remained unchanged at $7.25 an hour since 2010, when the federal minimum wage last increased.

That’s not for a lack of desire or effort to increase it over the last decade and a half. While the Democratic controlled House last year passed a measure to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, it died in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Pennsylvania Democrats say raising the wages of the commonwealth’s lowest-paid workers will again be at the top of their agenda in the 2025-2026 legislative session.

“The fact that Pennsylvania’s minimum wage continues to be $7.25 an hour is just immoral,” House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery) told reporters when the newly elected House convened for the first time on Jan. 7.

“It’s unconscionable. I can’t imagine with the affordability crisis that we have in this commonwealth, that anyone thinks it’s appropriate to be paying someone $7.25 an hour,” he said.

Gov. Josh Shapiro also said increasing the minimum wage will be top of mind when he introduces his 2025-2026 budget proposal next month. Shapiro’s first two budgets included increases in the minimum wage.

“To strengthen the economy, we need to raise wages. We need to finally pass a minimum wage increase in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said Wednesday at a news conference in Lycoming County.

“I’ve been for it for years, the House passed it two or three times, the Senate has yet to take it up.”

Nearly 68,000 Pennsylvania workers earned minimum wage or less in 2023, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s Minimum Wage Advisory Board. Another 800,000 earned between $7.25 and $15 an hour. Those earning minimum wage or less were most likely to be female, white and between 20 and 24 years old, among other attributes.

Yanette Lathrop, senior researcher and policy analyst for the National Employment Law Project, said $7.25 an hour is a poverty wage in Pennsylvania and across the country.

“Even for a single adult without children it’s not enough,” Lathrop said.

The United Way developed the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) model to calculate living wages for families across the country. It estimates the minimum cost of housing, child care, food, transportation, health care and technology plus a 10% contingency fund.

Under that model a single full-time worker must earn between $13 and $19 an hour to survive financially in Pennsylvania. A family of four with two adults working full-time, a survival wage is between $16 and $23 an hour.

“The inaction in Pennsylvania and in Congress is essentially dooming the workers who earn the federal minimum wage to poverty,” Lathrop said.

In June 2023, the House passed a bill that would incrementally increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next three years, with ongoing increases keyed to the consumer price index.

Although it received some bipartisan support, with votes from two House Republicans, it was not considered in the GOP-led Senate.

Bradford called on Senate Republicans to make a counter offer.

“We’ve shown what we can pass. What can you pass on the minimum wage? Or do you actually just agree with keeping it at $7.25, an hour? I think that’s a conversation that needs to be out in the public,” Bradford said.

Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) said in 2023 and repeated last week that although Senate Republicans are open to discussing a “reasonable adjustment” to the minimum wage, $15 an hour is a non-starter.

Pittman said the General Assembly’s focus should instead be on creating more opportunities for businesses and workers.

“The minimum wage debate fails to recognize the importance of maximum wages, which are what actually allow families to grow and prosper across the Commonwealth,” Pittman said in a statement to the Capital-Star. “I continue to struggle with the lack of focus our friends in the House place on initiatives to foster maximum wage job opportunities, such as those that come from the responsible use of our God given natural resources.”

Pittman added, “Until our friends in the House understand a more reasonable number must be put on the table, there is little to deliberate.”

Among the reasons Senate Republicans have opposed a $15 an hour minimum wage is the impact it could have on nonprofit organizations that deliver essential social services, Pittman said.

For those organizations, wages for care workers present a complicated problem in balancing the ability to deliver services to as many clients as possible with the moral obligation to pay a living wage, Anne Gingerich, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations, said.

“We don’t want to send our folks to get public benefits like SNAP or Medicaid,” Gingerich said, adding that many nonprofit organizations have struggled to retain workers as other employers have offered higher wages.

Child care providers and other groups have lobbied successfully for more state funding to support higher wages for workers. The 2024-2025 state budget included $280 million to raise wages for direct support professionals who provide individual care for autistic and intellectually disabled people.

“Our workforce is the most valued asset of all nonprofit organizations,” Gingerich said. “We have long taken the stance that we support efforts that would lead to sustainable wages for those who work for nonprofit organizations and those we serve.”

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) said the Republican position doesn’t dampen Democrats’ sense of urgency to increase minimum wages and he’s hopeful that the parties can reach an agreement on a higher hourly wage and how soon to implement it.

Pennsylvania has lagged behind other states in the region as each of its neighbors has increased minimum wages above $7.25 an hour. Only West Virginia and Ohio remain below $15 an hour and New York leads the group at $15.50 an hour.

That puts employers seeking a stable and reliable workforce at a disadvantage when workers can make considerably more at the same job by crossing the border.

“The ball is really in the court of my colleagues in the Senate Republican caucus,” Costa said, adding that he has had no recent conversations with Republican leaders on the topic. “We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to sit down among the four caucuses and work out a pathway to a higher minimum wage.”

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Pennsylvania

Sweet Summer: 59 creameries unite dairy lovers with Pennsylvania farms on Ice Cream Trail

Published

5 hours ago

June 6, 2026

Press Room

Sweet Summer: 59 creameries unite dairy lovers with Pennsylvania farms on Ice Cream Trail

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. (WFMZ) — 59 creameries across the Commonwealth are serving up a sweet summer connecting dairy lovers with Pennsylvania farms.

June 4 kicked off the Ninth Annual Scooped Ice Cream Trail.

Ice cream lovers can register online and fill out a digital passport as they visit participating creameries. Each visit earns points towards various prizes.

The owners of Batch Microcreamery in Center Valley tell 69 News they’re excited to be part of the trail for the third year in a row, attracting visitors locally and out-of-state.

“This is the third location of the ice cream trail that I’ve been on,” said Kamden Acevedo.

Acevedo is originally from Staten Island and said he’s motivated to try other locations on the trail throughout the state.

“I love ice cream. I’m going to try, I’m going to try my hardest honestly,” Acevedo stated.

Dana Reibman and her daughter are just happy for the sweet treat.

“We’re all up for ice cream all the time. We come here probably about once a month because we like trying the different flavors. As you can see, she really enjoys the cookie monster flavor,” Reibman explained.

The ice cream trail continues through Sept. 7.

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Pennsylvania

PA law would restrict cellphones in schools. Pittsburgh already bans them

Published

16 hours ago

June 5, 2026

Press Room

PA law would restrict cellphones in schools. Pittsburgh already bans them

Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives passed a bill requiring schools to create policies restricting student cellphone use.
Pittsburgh Public Schools already has a policy banning student cellphone use during the school day, which was approved in late 2025.
Under Pittsburgh’s policy, students must turn in their phones to school personnel for the duration of the school day.

If Pennsylvania sees statewide restrictions on cellphones in schools, would anything change in Pittsburgh?

It’s too early to say for sure.

On June 1, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed legislation that would require school districts to adopt phone restrictions, leaving the details of the exact policy’s implementation up to individual districts, according to USA TODAY. Now, if cleared by the Senate — which already passed another version of the proposal with almost unanimous support — it will go to Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has repeatedly said he supports getting cellphones out of classrooms with a bell-to-bell ban.

“Here in Pennsylvania, Democrats and Republicans agree: We need to let our kids be kids again,” Shapiro said in a June 4 post to his X account.

But Pittsburgh’s already ahead of the curve when it comes to banning cellphones during school hours because of a school board policy approved in late 2025.

Here’s what to know.

Are cell phones banned in Pittsburgh schools?

Yes, cellphones are banned during the school day at Pittsburgh Public Schools.

In December 2025, Pittsburgh Public Schools Board voted to ban the use of phones by students during the school day, Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.

Under the policy, the possession of phones by students is prohibited. While they may bring cellphones to school, the devices must be turned in to school personnel during the school day.

There are exceptions to the policy in cases where a student may need a phone for instructional activities, an Individualized Education Plan, a Section 504 Plan or for other reasons approved by a school administrator.

Why are schools banning cellphones?

Numerous states have already banned cellphones in schools, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and others, according to ABC News.

This year, Indiana and Kansas banned phones during the day, implementing policies that require students to keep their phones in inaccessible locations through the entire school day, USA TODAY reported.

Recently, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming passed or updated less restrictive legislation on phones in schools, according to an analysis by the Becca Schmill Foundation, the Institute for Families and Technology, Smartphone-Free Childhood US and Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation.

Illinois, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania may follow suit.

Do cellphone bans work?

Yes and no.

Cellphone bans keep kids off their devices, but they don’t appear to impact test scores, attendance, self-reported classroom attention or perceived online bullying, according to a study published in April by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Additionally, researchers found that during the first year of a cellphone ban, disciplinary incidents rose and students’ reported well-being fell, though the effects subsided as the years passed.

Still, there’s a push for bans nationally, with the U.S. surgeon general’s office warning on May 20 that “compulsive” screen use is linked to poor sleep, substance abuse, developmental disruptions and social, mental and behavioral issues. The office suggested that cellphone bans in schools are a way to help put excessive screen time in check.

Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s beloved 100-year-old amusement park still refuses to charge admission

Published

1 day ago

June 5, 2026

Press Room

Pennsylvania’s beloved 100-year-old amusement park still refuses to charge admission

In an era of pricey theme parks and gated admission, one Pennsylvania amusement park is still letting guests in for free.

Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, has been admission-free since it opened nearly a century ago.

Knoebels opened its doors on July 4, 1926 — and will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year, as the nation celebrates America’s semiquincentennial.

Many of the earliest amusement parks in the late 19th and early 20th centuries operated without admission fees, especially so-called “trolley parks,” which made money from charging guests for rides, food and drink.

Park owner Brian Knoebel, 52, recently told PA Local he “had to pinky-swear” to never change the free-admission model.

“It’s who we are,” he said. “It’s that traditional park.”

Knoebel said he recognizes that grandparents “get more satisfaction out of watching their grandkids ride the rides than they do themselves.”

“And Grandma and Grandpa are on a limited income,” he said. “So they don’t pay to park. We don’t force you to buy food in the park — if you want to bring a picnic lunch, then bring a picnic lunch.”

Knoebel, who said his ancestors came to America from Germany and worked as lumberers, said the amusement park began as a modest venture.

“After church on Sunday, they’d come down and park their horse and buggy off to the side, and frolic in the stream and have a little picnic,” he told PA Local.

“My great-grandfather would feed and stable your horses for, I believe, a quarter.”

Knoebel added, “Little by little, he started building some picnic tables and park benches, and on July 4, 1926, we opened a swimming pool, a restaurant — appropriately named ‘The Restaurant’ — and we rented a steam-powered carousel.”

Despite the park’s growth, Knoebel said its old-fashioned atmosphere has remained intact, including the canopy of trees, shaded walkways, creekside seating and classic attractions.

“How has it changed? We started with one ride, and one food stand, and the pool,” he said.

“We now have 60 rides, I believe 38 food stands, 24 games, and water slides … Quarter-mile down the road, we own the 18-hole golf course, complete with a bar and tavern.”

Overall, Knoebel said that he and his family “absolutely know our brand.”

“We know our fans,” he said.

“And that throwback amusement park from yesteryear is exactly who we continue to be,” he added.

“We don’t have roller coasters that reach the clouds. We have rides for thrill seekers … but, of course, we have more traditional rides.”

Knoebels is the largest free-admission park in the United States. “Knoebels does not have a gate, and you only pay for what you want once you are at the park,” the venue says on its website.

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