Prince George’s County councilmembers push to raise minimum wage

LARGO, Md. ( DC News Now ) — Prince George’s County leaders are working to keep the cost of living affordable for minimum wage workers by trying to raise the minimum wage to help those struggling financially.

Prince George’s County councilmember, Krystal Oriadha, is calling Monday a victory. More than 20 supporters of the proposed amendment held a rally before councilmembers voted 5-0 in favor of the amendment to raise the minimum wage.

“It passed committee today it is just the first step and we have a long way to go to make sure it is passed after the public hearing but today is a victory,” she said. “What we are trying to do is create a system that allows us to constantly look at what our minimum wage is and what inflation is and to make sure our minimum wage is increasing with inflation to help people.”

The Prince George’s County minimum wage is $15 per hour, an amount that was set in 2017 under a law passed in 2013 that implemented incremental increases.

A number of supporters like Janay Fenner attended Monday’s council meeting. Fenner is a social advocate from Progressive Maryland who supports the effort to raise the minimum wage.

“It’s the first hearing for the bill and we are fighting very hard to have fair wages to help every working family in Prince George’s County and having all of us here to support this effort is a big deal,” Fenner said.

Not everyone supports the proposed amendment. Others from the Restaurant Association of Maryland, who did not want to speak to DC News Now, opposed the amendment.

The next step in the process is a public hearing in November and then the Council is expected to make a final vote on the issue.

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