Virginia’s Minimum Wage is not so Minimum Anymore

With all the craziness that is happening in this world right now, there is something that has a positive impact on our people. With the new raise of minimum wage being $15 an hour, many employees are finally starting to feel appreciated and valued.

Reagan Blanding, Reporter|March 15, 2021

Courtesy of Emily Sullivan

Anna Yaugo, an eighteen year old senior at JHS, has a part-time job at her local Starbucks. She works as hard and often as she can so she can start to support herself.

Do you think your paychecks are the bare minimum? In Virginia, the starting minimum wage is $7.25 an hour and this should not cut it for these hard working employees.

The decision to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour was made in April of 2020 by Governor Ralph Northam, and was set to allow companies to have a reasonable amount of time to prepare for this transition starting May 1st, 2021. Additionally, this plan got delayed due to the pandemic and its circumstances. He wanted to make sure these companies had enough time to recover from COVID-19. This is a huge step in the right direction for Virginia because there has not been an increase in minimum wage since 2009 when it was raised to $7.25 an hour.

President Joe Biden has a plan to increase minimum wage to $15 an hour, but this will certainly take some time in order for it to occur. This plan will differ in each state depending on their own decisions. According to JacksonLewis, In Virginia, minimum wage will increase to $9.50 starting May 1st, 2021. On January 1st, 2022, it will increase to $11.00 an hour. Next, on January 1st, 2023, the minimum wage will raise to $12.00. January 1st, 2025 it will increase to $13.50 and finally on January 1st, 2026, the minimum wage will be all the way up to $15.00 an hour.

A Jamestown High School senior, Anna Yaugo, works a part time job at Starbucks in the many locations around Williamsburg. She has worked there for seven months and gets paid $10.00 an hour without tips. 

Three teenagers are working hard to prepare the Ford’s Colony pool for an unexpected thunderstorm. They have many responsibilities when it comes to lifeguarding.

“As a young woman that is trying to make money to buy the things I may need or want; I think the increase of minimum wage is a great idea” she said. “Working in these industries as a young adult can be a lot of work and pressure in which we should be getting paid more than the standard minimum wage that is set right now.” When Anna was asked if the minimum wage plan was too long, she said, “I think it could be done in a shorter time frame instead of it going into effect in 2026, however, I know these things take time in order to keep our country efficient.” A lot of people are in favor of raising minimum wage. Anna’s take? “I believe the new increase of minimum wage throughout the next few years will attract a lot of people to work in these different industries, and it would result in a generous boost in our economy.” Lastly, when Anna was asked if they should have raised the minimum wage a long time ago, she responded with, “Oh 100%. However, I do believe if it was raised a few years ago there would not be any progression and room to improve.” 

Dru Dunn, a two year employer at ACE Hardware, works extremely hard and will do anything for his customers. He works, on average, three times a week to support himself.

A Lafayette High School senior, Alivia Palmer, works at the Ford’s Colony golf shop as a part time employee. She has worked there for eight months and gets paid $8.50 an hour and does not receive any tips.

“Working on top of being a student-athlete is challenging and I feel at times my hard work at Ford’s Colony does not translate to my paycheck” she said. When Alivia was asked her thoughts on raising the minimum wage, she said, “I 100% support it! I think this is a great decision to make for our younger employees across the world as well as our economy.” A lot of people believe this will have a positive effect on workers, especially younger ones. Alivia’s take? “For me, personally, the increase in minimum wage will help me tremendously. I will be able to save more money and take care of myself more since I am growing up.” Alivia says, “I think it is necessary for there to be such an extended period for this to take place. Although it may seem like five years is way too long, 2026 will be here in no time.”  

Gabby Molina works a part-time job at Second Street where she works hard to try and accommodate all of her customers.

Overall, the increase in minimum wage will be affected for not only our employees, but our economy too. With this lengthy time period, it is possible for Virginia to be able to raise their minimum wages because other states right now are struggling with an organized plan. The $15 raise will greatly affect our state, and eventually our country, in which we should be grateful that Virginia is headed into a positive and progressive direction.