Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility “Neighbors Need a Raise”

“Neighbors Need a Raise”

Rep. Tarik Khan    June 27, 2025

As submitted for publication to the East Falls Now, Cheatnut Hill Local and Roxborough Review

By State Rep Tarik Khan

The year was 2009. The Obamas were still getting used to sleeping in the White House. AI was about to make his second go-round with the Sixers. If you liked music, you could buy a Sony Walkman at Circuit City or an iPod Shuffle at CompUSA. Instagram hadn't been invented yet. It was a cool time, but sadly, 2009 was the last time Pennsylvania raised its minimum wage from $7.25.

Even then, living on the minimum wage was not easy. After college, I tried to support myself on minimum wage. Despite working full time, living with three other guys in a two-bedroom apartment, and living frugally, I still needed to write home to my family every so often to ask for help making my $500 rent. And I'll never forget when I had to break into my US state quarter collection book to afford bus fare.

Today, it's even harder to live on minimum wage. The cost of living is 50% higher than it was in 2009. Unreasonable Washington policies like high tariffs are only making things worse for neighbors. Our local workers deserve and need a raise.

That's why I'm helping to lead efforts here in PA to support workers. I helped introduce two minimum wage bills that would raise the wage to at least $15 for Philadelphia workers and ensure the wage rises yearly to keep up with the cost of living. This month, our minimum wage bill passed the chamber with a one-vote margin. The Senate must now do the right thing to get these low-wage workers the support they need.

However, minimum wage is not the only space where workers need help in 2025. Over 9,000 workers from AFSCME District Council 33 voted to strike if they do not get a fair wage increase. These workers serve in some of our city's most demanding and thankless roles, including cleaning our streets, taking our trash and recycling, answering our 911 calls, and caring for our world-class airport. Sadly, many of these city workers are not paid close to a living wage, and some even depend on public assistance. I was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with these workers at a recent press conference downtown.

Nurses and technicians at Chestnut Hill Hospital are also ready to strike if they do not receive a fair contract by early summer. These workers have been without a contract since they voted to unionize in December 2023. And workers at Starbucks in Chestnut Hill on Germantown Ave just voted to unionize. As a former Starbucks barista, I know the importance of fair pay and benefits in the workplace.

The relationship between workers and management should be a symbiotic partnership — mutually beneficial and supportive. As an elected official, I believe it is essential that I use my influence to pass legislation to support workers and show up to help workers and their employers find common ground. Hopefully, 2025 will be the year that wages begin to catch up with the cost of living, and our neighbors get the raises they deserve. 

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