Victory in Maryland! Photo by Raise Maryland.
Today, the minimum wage bill that will increase the wage to $10.10 by 2018 passed the final vote in the House by 87-47 vote. Onto the Governor’s desk for his signature and enactment!
Congratulations to Raise Maryland and other communities allies that joined us in the fight to give ALL Marylanders a wage they deserve!
Check out our Minimum Wage Explained poster here!
A Message from Raise Maryland—The Maryland General Assembly today passed legislation to raise the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 per hour by 2018. The bill was passed by the House of Delegates in March 89 to 46 and cleared the Senate on April 5 by a vote of 34 to 13. Today’s final concurrence vote in the House of Delegates was 87 to 47. A top priority of Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, he is expected to sign the bill quickly after session ends. This is the first time that a minimum wage bill has been passed by the Maryland General Assembly since 2006. The last time minimum wage workers received a pay raise was 2009.
Today is a victory for working people across the state. As a result of this legislation, hundreds of thousands of minimum wage workers will receive a meaningful and significant pay raise over the next several years. While we did not get everything we fought for, we should be proud of what we accomplished today.
When we launched our effort last year, we faced overwhelming odds and our bill was voted down in the conservative Senate Finance Committee 8 to 3 but we didn’t let that stop us. Instead, we redoubled our efforts, built our coalition and out-organized the opposition.
We knocked on 40,000 doors, collected 25,000 petition signatures and sent more than 8,000 personalized letters to elected officials. Together, with our partners, we organized effective actions and events demanding a raise in the minimum wage. Progressive business owners, faith leaders as well as community, civil rights, immigrant, and labor activists all spoke out and made our voice heard. We mobilized the grassroots and moved votes to make today’s vote possible.