Republicans voted against raising the minimum wage Thursday, killing two bills that would have given raises to tipped employees who make $2.13 an hour in wages and other workers who can’t afford rent without working more than a full-time job, according to data shared by advocates.
House Minority Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, proposed bumping up the baseline salary from $7.25 an hour to $12 an hour by July 2022. Tipped workers would have gotten more than a $1-an-hour bump under a separate bill that Republicans on a House labor committee also voted against.
King and supporters pointed out that workers are falling behind while the state’s housing costs soar, availability of low-income and affordable housing lags and the minimum wage stays at the same level since 2009 for thousands of workers in Utah.