In the summer of 2021, Howard Progressive Project began assembling the Living Wage Howard County coalition, a group of organizations and residents dedicated to social equity and economic justice. Our goal was to work with the Howard County Council to raise the minimum wage and make living wages a reality for all of us.
We were successful.
Living Wage Howard County celebrates the passage of CB82-2021 as a significant first step toward economic justice for Howard County’s low-wage frontline workers. The bill raises the minimum wage for most employees to $15/hr in 2023 and $16/hr in 2025, putting $161 million in the pockets of 40,000 workers over the next five years, and this will help folks feed their families, care for their kids, and save for a rainy day. Additionally, the bill guarantees an annual adjustment of the minimum wage to the local Consumer Price Index beginning on January 1, 2027, allowing our lowest-paid frontline workers paychecks to keep up with inflation. CB82 will benefit 25% of all Howard County’s workers, including 30% of all working women, 33% of the county’s Black workers, 51% of all Latinx workers, 25% of the county’s Asian and Pacific Islander workers, and 75% or all workers in low-income families. Additionally, CB82 will help our local businesses by making it easier to hire and retain workers.