Richmond, Virginia–Workers are celebrating today as legislation to make the minimum wage sustainable for working families has passed out of the House Labor and Commerce Committee on a vote of 15-7. HB 1, sponsored by Delegate Jeion Ward, would raise the minimum wage to $13.75 an hour in 2027 and $15 an hour in 2028. It will now move to the House of Delegates for a full vote.
This is the third time in three years that these bills have been passed by the House of Delegates. Bills to raise the minimum wage for 611,000 working people to $15 an hour were passed in 2024 and 2025 but vetoed by former Governor Glenn Youngkin, whose net worth is estimated to be approximately $470 million.
“Working families have been heard, and today’s vote shows what’s possible when our leaders choose people over politics,” said Ashleigh Crocker, Interim Executive Director of Progress Virginia. “With costs still rising faster than wages, this legislation is a critical step toward ensuring that no one is forced to fall behind. We applaud Delegate Ward for standing with workers year after year and finally delivering a minimum wage that reflects the real cost of living. Virginia is moving closer to an economy rooted in dignity, fairness, and respect. We urge members of the House of Delegates to vote for the bill, and will keep working until it is signed by Governor Spanberger.”
Background:
- The minimum wage in Virginia is currently $12.77 an hour
- Despite wage gains in many sectors, Virginia still has the ninth-largest percentage of minimum wage workers and the eighth-largest percentage of hourly workers in the US
- Nearly 1 million Virginians make less than $17 an hour, Oxfam’s definition of a “low wage worker.” 31% of Black and Latine Virginians make under $17/hr, compared to 19% of white Virginians. 26% of women make under $17/hr, compared to 17% of men.
- Because of federal inaction, the purchasing power of the minimum wage has stagnated, and it’s currently at its lowest point in 68 years.
- A recent JLARC study found that there is nowhere in Virginia where a worker can meet their basic needs for $12.41 an hour. In Tazewell, the place with the lowest cost of living in the Commonwealth, a worker would still need to make $14.55 an hour to cover their regular bills.
- If the minimum wage kept up with productivity, the wage would be $26 per hour.
- Recent studies have indicated that states that raise the minimum wage experience job growth, not job loss, that raising the minimum wage raises wages for all workers, and that minimum wage increases correlate with reductions in crime and an overall increase in happiness and productivity.