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Bloomberg: Five Ballot Measures to Watch Next Week

By Jonathan Bernstein
Bloomberg, Oct 26, 2020

t’s not just candidates on the ballot next Tuesday. As usual, there are a host of ballot measures - 120 statewide ones, plus various local questions... These are the top five I’m watching ...

Florida’s Amendment 2 : Raise the State Minimum Wage to $15

Florida is also considering raising the state minimum wage to $15 [link: New coalition of Florida businesses backs Amendment 2 to raise minimum wage to $15].
This one is important because of the signal it may send to national Democrats if they achieve unified party government. ...

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Post and Courier: Restaurant recovery voter guide: SC 6th Congressional District

By Hanna Raskin
Post and Courier (Charleston, SC), Oct 26, 2020

...Has [Rep. Jim] Clyburn ever worked in a restaurant? Yes
First-ever favorite restaurant: Clyburn Cafe, a family owned and operated restaurant on West Liberty Street in Sumter. ...

Do you support raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour?

Yes, I believe this measure is critical. Last year, the House passed the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually increase the federal minimum wage, reaching $15 an hour in six years and indexed to inflation thereafter. Restaurant jobs, like all jobs, must pay a living wage...

Orlando Sentinel: New coalition of Florida businesses backs Amendment 2 to raise minimum wage to $15

By Caroline Glenn
Orlando Sentinel, Oct 23, 2020. Also Yahoo News

The debate over raising Florida’s minimum wage has largely pitted employers, who argue it would be too costly, against workers, who say they can’t live off the current $8.56 an hour. A newly formed coalition of Florida businesses that back Amendment 2 wants to change that narrative.

Florida Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, which includes restaurants, manufacturers, hoteliers and clothing boutiques, was formed in the months before the Nov. 3 election when Floridians will decide on the amendment. If passed with 60% of...

Miami Herald: Scott Fuhrman: Businesses should really welcome Amendment 2

By Scott Fuhrman
Miami Herald, Oct 23, 2020

People have been at the heart of Lakewood's success since the beginning, when we sold fresh fruit and juices out of a small warehouse in Allapattah to hotels on Miami Beach. Now, we are the nation's largest family-owned and operated organic juice company. We're still following a people- centered business model.

We pay a living wage plus benefits to every employee, from our juice makers to janitorial staff. We're proud to have multiple generations of families working here. Their dedication and loyalty help make our business what...

Creative Loafing Tampa Bay: 2020 recommendations for Florida Amendments: ‘Yes’ on 2, ‘No’ on everything else

By McKenna Schuler
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Oct 21, 2020

... Amendment 2: Vote Yes

Amendment 2, also known as the Fair Wage Amendment, would gradually raise Florida’s minimum wage from its current $8.56 to $15.00 by 2026, beginning with an increase to $10.00 next September. ... Supporters—like, actual low wage workers, along with Orlando attorney John Morgan’s PAC, Florida for a Fair Wage—say the amendment would uplift thousands of Floridians and their families out of poverty. Over 120 Florida business leaders from a variety of industries have expressed their support for a $15 minimum living...

Southwest Florida Business Today: Business Owners Back Amendment 2 to Raise Minimum Wage

Southwest Florida Business Today, Oct 19, 2020

As early voting begins across Florida today, business owners and executives in the growing Florida Business for a Fair Minimum Wage coalition are supporting Amendment 2, which would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2026.

These business leaders say that raising the minimum wage will boost consumer spending, strengthen Florida’s workforce, and help businesses and the economy. They have signed the Florida Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Statement, saying, “Grocery workers, healthcare aides, cleaning staff, childcare workers and other Floridians are working at the $8.56 minimum...

WFTV9 ABC: Amendment to increase minimum wage to $15 on this year’s ballot

By Megan Cruz and Adam Poulisse
WFTV9 ABC (Orlando),  Oct 7, 2020

WATCH VIDEO with Jared Meyers, Owner, Legacy Vacation Resorts

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — This year, there’s a constitutional amendment on the ballot to increase Florida’s minimum wage to $15. The increase would be a gradual move to $15 from $8.56 right now, to $10 next September and then $1 every other year until we got to $15 on Sept. 30, 2026.

If at least 60% of voters are for it, the ballot will pass.

John Morgan who founded the country’s largest personal injury firm, Morgan &...

FOX 13 News: Florida Amendment 2 explained: Minimum wage hike

By Jennifer Holton
FOX 13 News (Tampa), Oct 7, 2020

... Danielle Ferrari, who owns Valhalla Resale in Tampa, supports the amendment.

“Right now our minimum wage in Florida is set at a poverty rate, and the right thing to do is to pay people a fair wage for the work that they do.”

Ferrari disagrees with Horne’s notion that the increase would drive prices up.

“When our communities are raised up from poverty, sales for local businesses will have to go up.” ...

WATCH VIDEO

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Tampa Bay Times: The Florida constitutional amendments on the 2020 ballot, explained

By Kirby Wilson
Tampa Bay Times, Sep. 23, 2020

Florida voters have the power to dramatically change the laws of the state on Nov. 3. Half a dozen constitutional amendments could permanently shape Florida policy ...

Amendment 2: Raising Florida’s Minimum Wage

... This ballot initiative would gradually raise the minimum wage in Florida to $15 per hour by 2026. Florida’s current minimum wage is $8.56 per hour, greater than the $7.25 federal minimum wage.

The amendment would help level the playing field for workers, says Florida for a Fair Wage, the initiative’s sponsor organization...

Nation's Restaurant News: Compensation: Pandemic forces restaurant industry to rethink wages, tip credit

By Nancy Luna
Nation's Restaurant News, Sep 16, 2020

As restaurants slowly return to dine-in service where they can, thousands of jobs have been restored. But how restaurants view and pay their workforce is evolving. ... Industry watchers say the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement have amplified the ongoing debate about paying restaurant workers a living wage and the inequities between the front and back of house, especially in “tip credit” states. ...

Since the beginning of the pandemic-related restaurant shutdown, most foodservice jobs were considered essential ... The work is risky, stressful...