VIRGINIA – When Jeanne Robinson’s grandson Malcom was born in 2017, she decided to leave her career to help take care of him.
“I had to stop my mental health counseling and take care of my grandson who has Down Syndrome,” said Robinson. “[It’s] a big sacrifice that I’m making, but I want to be here for my family.”
She took a job as a home care worker. But the career change cut her pay by more than half to the current minimum wage: $12 per hour.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow,” said Robinson. “It makes you feel worthless.”
“As a home care worker, you’re changing diapers, you’re doing more labor, [hands-on] work. And we’re getting paid only $12 an hour. That’s really like a slap in the face to me,” she added.
Virginia lawmakers are looking to raise the minimum wage to $13.50 starting in 2025 and $15.00 in 2026.
“The raise would help us out a whole lot. And it would change the morale of my coworkers,” said Robinson.
Sen. Mark Peake says he voted against the bill because he worries how it could impact small businesses in rural Southwest Virginia.
“It’s crazy to think that we would have the same minimum wage for the entire state,” said Peake. “And that’s the problem when a government mandates the wage, it takes the free market out. it doesn’t take in the factors such as cost of living or available employment pool.”
The minimum wage legislation passed the House and an identical bill is in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.