Gov. Wolf calls for improved worker wages, sick leave, safety during Pittsburgh visit

Touting an economy “on the comeback,” Gov. Tom Wolf during a Thursday stop in Pittsburgh announced an executive order and his support for a slew of bills aimed at improving the wages, benefits and safety of workers statewide.

“It’s a misconception that stiffing your workers is the way to high profitability. It does not work that way. That is bad business,” Wolf said. “And businesses who believe that’s the way they ought to do it, they ought to change their approach.”

In an event at the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers building on Pittsburgh’s South Side, the governor announced that he had signed an emergency order earlier in the day and called on the Legislature to approve a slate of broader legislation he said would cultivate “safer workplaces, guarantee paid leave and increase worker pay, among other worker-centered improvements.”

“This is a critical moment for Pennsylvania workers,” Wolf said. “It’s time we stop asking why there is a labor shortage and start asking how we can make jobs better.”

Among other items, Wolf’s latest executive order calls on the Department of Community and Economic Development to add sick leave benefits to criteria used when awarding public funding to private businesses and contractors. Paid sick leave now will be a requirement of those seeking grant funding through the Governor’s Action Team.

Those that do business with state government or receive state funding in the form of grants and financing assistance also are urged to increase wages, as proposed legislation to mandate such an increase languishes in General Assembly.

As Wolf himself acknowledged, he and fellow Democrats face an uphill battle to get the package of bills he supports to make it to his desk.

“There are companies out there and employers who don’t agree with this,” said Wolf, “but they’re wrong.”

GOP opposes Wolf’s ‘pro-worker’ package

Republican leaders were quick to dismiss Wolf’s “pro-worker” package as an attack on businesses.

“The executive action issued by Gov. Wolf today raises serious questions, including whether or not he has the authority to even take these actions,” House Republican Caucus spokesman Jason Gottesman said. “What is clear, however, is that over the last 19 months, the Wolf administration has shown they know more about destroying Pennsylvania jobs than creating them.

“Further, the labor shortage crisis has shown that those seeking jobs today have access to higher wages, increased bargaining power and a plethora of employment opportunities.”

Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, criticized Wolf’s actions as “one more attempt to bypass the voice of the people.”

“The efforts outlined today to protect Pennsylvania workplaces is a ruse that further opens the door to executive branch overreach, crushes small businesses and generates greater confusion for employers to keep their employees employed and safe,” Ward said. “Pennsylvanians have already spoken when it comes to government interference in our lives and workplaces when they voted to limit the governor’s executive powers with the passage of the constitutional amendment in the primary.”

The governor balked at claims that his plan would lead to onerous costs and harm the private sector.

“Having spent my entire life — except for the last seven years (while in office) — in business, I don’t buy that,” Wolf said.

Wolf noted that “30-some states” have a minimum wage higher than Pennsylvania’s, adding, “I don’t see businesses suffering in those 30-some states.”

Happening NOW— @GovernorTomWolf in #Pittsburgh’s South Side to announce exec order & support for bills to improve wages, sick leave & worker safety.

Touting “economy on comeback,” says “time we stop asking why there’s a labor shortage & start asking how we can make jobs better.” pic.twitter.com/ibgJ2XKmYB

— Natasha Lindstrom (@NewsNatasha) October 21, 2021

Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 — the same rate it’s been for 15 years. Wolf has tried unsuccessfully to increase it since taking office nearly seven years ago.

State employees and contractors now make a minimum of $13.50 per hour, and that rate will climb to $15 per hour on July 1, 2024, under an executive order that Wolf signed in 2018.

State Rep. Jessica Benham, D-Carrick, conceded she would be “frankly, shocked” if any of Wolf’s labor-related proposals make it to a vote in the GOP-controlled House any time soon.

“And that’s sad,” Benham said.

Rather than prioritize Wolf’s plans, the House GOP plans to take up proposed legislation that supports the economy and its workers without burdening employers, Gottesman said.

“In order to continue to grow our economy, the House Republican Caucus will continue our focus on economic recovery, reducing barriers to employment and workforce development in a way that does not further harm small business job creators with more unilateral mandates from Harrisburg,” Gottesman said.

Wolf lamented that an estimated more than 400,000 Pennsylvania workers do not get any form of paid sick leave.

“Too many hard-working people in Pennsylvania are forced to choose between losing a day’s pay or coming in to work when they’re sick,” Wolf said.

Wolf’s plan does not cite any specific amount of sick days or hours for a leave policy to be acceptable when considered by the likes of state agencies doling out grants and contracts.

“We recognize that some might have different standards than others, and we’d be open to that argument,” Wolf said. “What we want to see is some paid time off.”

The state also will be publicly shaming so-called “bad actors” — businesses that violate labor laws, misclassify workers, owe unemployment compensation back taxes or fail to carry requisite workers’ compensation insurance. A list of such companies will soon be made public online by the Department of Labor and Industry.

Additional bills that Wolf supports would extend Occupational Safety and Health Administration protections to all public-sector workers and improve unemployment compensation benefits.

“If want good workers to commit themselves to make our companies successful, we’re going to have to pay for that,” Wolf said. “We’re going to have to invest adequately in those workers.”