By Andrew Soergel
U.S. News & World Report, Nov 9, 2016
Tuesday was not an Election Day to remember for those on the left, but progressive wage initiatives in four states passed as millions of voters supported efforts to raise pay for those at the bottom of the earnings scale. Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington all passed minimum wage initiatives Tuesday that will gradually raise their respective state-mandated base pay levels. Washington will boost its minimum wage to $13.50 per hour by 2020, while the other states will see minimum pay climb to $12 per hour over the same window. ...
"Four very different states passed ballot initiatives today to raise the minimum wage. That speaks volumes," Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage advocacy group, said in a statement Wednesday. "The minimum wage wins today will increase the momentum to raise the minimum wage in more states and nationally." ...
"We're encouraged by these state raises and look forward to continued growth for our business and the economy with future state and federal raises," Bill Phelps, cofounder and CEO of Wetzel's Pretzels, said in a statement Wednesday.
The Business for a Fair Minimum Wage group spoke with a handful of national employers who have indicated a minimum wage hike will ultimately be good for their bottom lines. If consumers have more money to spend, that's good for business, especially if these companies already pay their workers a better-than-bottom base wage.
Regardless, though, the minimum wage victories at the polls Tuesday will be hailed as good news for a movement that was brought up by progressives but increasingly hovers in bipartisan territory.
South Dakota actually rejected an initiative that would have lowered the minimum wage for workers under the age of 18. ...
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