BALTIMORE — One Fair Wage launched a signature drive Friday to place a constitutional amendment on Maryland’s 2026 ballot that would set the state’s minimum wage at $25 an hour, eliminating exceptions for tipped workers and youth. The proposal, if approved by voters, would position Maryland ahead of Washington, D.C.’s $17.95 rate as the nation’s highest.
The national advocacy group, which has pushed similar measures in 25 states since 2022, requires at least 74,641 valid signatures from registered voters — 3 percent of the 2022 gubernatorial election turnout — by July 2026 to qualify the amendment for legislative referral and eventual ballot placement. Maryland’s process limits direct citizen initiatives to constitutional changes, routing proposals through the General Assembly for a three-fifths vote before voter consideration. Organizers plan to file petitions with the State Board of Elections by mid-2026, targeting urban centers like Baltimore and suburban areas including Prince George’s County.
Proponents frame the $25 floor as essential amid rising costs, where the current $15 hourly minimum — in place since January 2023 and set to rise to $15.50 on January 1, 2026, for most employers — falls short for basic needs. “An initiative that would raise the minimum wage in Maryland to $25 an hour with no exceptions,” said Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage. Internal polling by the group shows broad backing, with 68 percent of likely voters in favor and strong turnout potential among infrequent participants. “An extremely high number of unlikely low propensity voters said I will be more likely to turn out to vote in November 2026 if 25 is on the ballot,” Jayaraman added.
Chris Meyer, policy director at the Maryland Center on Economic Policy, echoed the urgency. “$15 isn’t close to enough for even a single worker not taking care of children to afford a basic living standard in Maryland,” he said. The nonprofit’s analysis pegs a single adult’s living wage at $24.16 hourly statewide, factoring in housing at $1,200 monthly averages and groceries exceeding $400. In high-cost areas like Montgomery County, that figure climbs to $28.50.
Opposition surfaced immediately from business groups and Republicans, who warn of job losses and business flight. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce, representing 2,500 firms, called the jump unsustainable. “We understand that many Marylanders are struggling with the cost of living and want better opportunities to get ahead. But Maryland’s economy is already struggling to create and keep jobs, and raising the minimum wage to $25 would make it even harder,” the chamber stated in a release. Delegate Kathy Szeliga, R-Baltimore County, labeled it fiscally reckless. “I think what we could say is with socialism, eventually you run out of other people’s money, and that’s what this is. We would be far, far and away higher than our neighboring states and people,” Szeliga said.
Southern Maryland, with its blend of tourism-driven service jobs and federal installations, stands at a crossroads in the debate. Calvert County’s coastal resorts and seafood shacks employ about 22 percent of workers in low-wage roles like servers and housekeepers, per a 2016 economic study updated with 2023 labor data. A $25 mandate could boost take-home pay for those at Flag Ponds Nature Park concessions or Solomons Island marinas, where seasonal tips often supplement the $3.63 tipped minimum. Yet small operators, such as family-run crab houses in Dowell, might face payroll hikes of 67 percent, prompting cuts in hours or prices for blue crabs that already top $50 a dozen.
In Charles County, suburban growth around Waldorf has swelled retail and fast-food outlets, with 26 percent of the workforce in sub-$15 roles. The area’s proximity to Naval Support Activity Indian Head means defense contractors could absorb costs through federal contracts, but independents like La Plata diners worry about passing expenses to customers commuting from Virginia, where the minimum remains $12. In St. Mary’s County, home to Patuxent River Naval Air Station and a burgeoning aerospace sector, child care providers — paid around $31,000 annually — could see relief, as state lawmakers noted in October hearings on enrollment freezes tied to low wages. Lead teachers there earn up to $43,000, still below the $52,000 needed for a family of three.
The push revives stalled legislative bids. Governor Wes Moore’s 2024 plan to index wages to inflation after reaching $15.50 stalled in the Senate amid budget concerns. One Fair Wage’s earlier campaign for a phased $20 by 2030, including tip exemptions from state taxes, cleared the House but died in a Senate committee in February 2025. Those defeats, coupled with Montgomery and Prince George’s counties already surpassing state rates at $17.15 and $16.70 respectively for larger firms, underscore the ballot route’s appeal for bypassing Annapolis gridlock.
Maryland’s wage history traces to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s 1938 adoption, with state hikes accelerating under Governor Martin O’Malley in 2014, lifting from $7.25 to $10.10 by 2016. The 2019 Time to Care Act locked in $15 by 2023, with annual adjustments starting 2025 based on the Consumer Price Index. Tipped workers, however, linger at $3.63, requiring employers to ensure total earnings hit minimums through tip credits — a structure critics say fosters exploitation in hospitality-heavy regions like Southern Maryland’s waterfront eateries.
For the tri-county area of 480,000 residents, the initiative intersects with local affordability pressures. Housing costs in Leonardtown average $1,800 monthly rents, outpacing wage growth in service sectors that employ one in four adults. Proponents point to Seattle’s $19.97 wage since 2021, where low-wage employment rose 2.5 percent without the predicted job exodus. Detractors cite California’s $16 rate, linked to a 1.2 percent dip in restaurant openings per federal labor statistics.
One Fair Wage, founded in 2015 by Jayaraman, has secured wins in nine states, including Michigan’s 2024 ballot measure for $15 by 2027. In Maryland, volunteers aim to collect 100,000 signatures by spring 2026, focusing on Baltimore City and Southern Maryland’s rural precincts where turnout lags. If certified, the amendment would take effect January 2027, barring legal challenges from chambers like the one that delayed federal $15 mandates for contractors in 2022.
The drive unfolds as inflation eases to 2.4 percent statewide, yet food insecurity affects 11 percent of Southern Maryland households, per 2024 Feeding America data. Businesses in Prince Frederick’s strip malls or Hollywood’s vineyards prepare contingency plans, from automation in fast casual to advocacy for exemptions. Voters will weigh these trade-offs in a general election alongside congressional races and potential redistricting referendums.