By Rudi Keller
Columbia Daily Tribune, Aug 25, 2018

It has been more than nine years since the last increase in the federal minimum wage, only the third time in 80 years since the Depression-era law was enacted that low-wage workers have waited that long for a raise. ... Supporters of Proposition B on the November ballot think Missourians are ready to act again to approve a series of increases that would set the rate at $12 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2023. ...

The raises included in Proposition B will reduce turnover, attract new workers...

By Tony Messenger
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aug 24, 2018

Growing up in the steel town of Granite City, Steve Crider’s career path seemed set. He was a machinist right out of high school, like his dad and his uncles and even his grandmother. ... Christmas of 1999 changed things. Crider got a home brewing kit. His life path took a curve.

Nineteen years later, his 2nd Shift Brewing, tucked into an industrial area south of Manchester Avenue on The Hill, is part of the hopping craft beer scene in St. Louis.

The company’s success...

By Kyle Boaz
Springfield Business Journal, Aug 20, 2018

A national network of business owners and executives are pushing to increase minimum wages, and the group is gaining traction around Springfield. At least 48 local businesses have signed the pledge with Business for a Fair Minimum Wage to support Proposition B on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Op-Ed By Business Owner Charlie O'Reilly
Springfield News-Leader, August 19. 2018

This November, Missourians will have the opportunity to vote “Yes” on Proposition B to raise the minimum wage in our state. This initiative is very reasonable and conservative by raising the minimum wage 85 cents a year over five years, which would make the minimum wage $12 per hour in 2023.

By Tyler Wornell
Joplin Globe, Aug 16, 2018

With a vote on raising Missouri's minimum wage less than three months away, more than a dozen Joplin businesses have indicated support for a proposition that would increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour when it takes full effect by 2023.

Middle American Democrat, Aug 16, 2018

Proposition B will be on the ballot for Missouri voters this November. If approved, the minimum wage in Missouri would go from $7.85 to $8.60 in January 2019 and then increase yearly until it gets to $12 an hour in 2023. It is not enough, but it is a start. ...

Notably absent from those opposed to the measure are a growing number of small businesses, as reported by the Joplin Globe. Local businesses show support for minimum wage hike

“Shortly after the initiative was certified by the secretary...

By Joe Rios
KTTS 94.7 FM (Springfield), Aug 12, 2018

Business owners supporting a ballot measure to raise Missouri's minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2023 are speaking out.

A report from the Missourinet say Stacy Jurado-Miller, who heads the Vecino Group in Springfield, which is a real estate development firm that specializes in low-income housing, says taxpayers end up footing the bill for workers with low paying jobs.

Howard Hanna owns two restaurants in Kansas City. He claims all his kitchen and waitstaff make more than $12 per hour already and says raising...

By Jason Taylor
Missourinet, Aug 10, 2018

One of the six ballot measures that Missouri will decide in November’s election would raise the state’s minimum wage. The group Raise Up Missouri collected more than 120,000 signatures to ensure the pay hike would be placed before voters. The effort is also supported by Missouri Business for Fair Minimum Wage.

By the Editorial Board
St. Louis Post Dispatch, Aug 4, 2018

St. Louis hourly workers benefited briefly last year from an ordinance raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour within the city, well above Missouri’s then-statewide level of $7.70. ... It took just four months for the Republican-led Legislature to step in and override the city ordinance with a state law forcing St. Louis’ minimum wage back down to the lower state standard. ...

Now workers will have a chance at the polling place to regain that lost ground — not just in St...

By Will Schmitt
Springfield News-Leader, Aug. 3, 2018

A proposal increasing Missouri's minimum wage by roughly 50 percent by 2023 has gained the support of a coalition of small businesses across the state. Currently, the state's minimum wage is $7.85 per hour. A proposal raising that rate to $12 per hour over five years was certified Thursday by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, and advocates announced the support of more than 300 business people in the state via a coalition called Missouri Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.

By Ray Scherer 
St. Joseph News Press (MO), Aug 3, 2018

Two Downtown businesses are among those already staking out their positions in support of a minimum wage hike that will be placed before Missouri voters this fall. ...

Proponents hail the idea as necessary to aid small businesses and families. A small number of St. Joseph businesses have signed on as members of Business For a Fair Minimum Wage ...

Dana Massin, owner of Manic Snail, is among those on the list in favor of raising the wage.

“As a local business owner, with a...

By Christopher Rugaber
Associated Press (AP), Aug 3, 2018

With the U.S. unemployment rate near a five-decade low, companies are looking harder for employees, and in some cases finding them right at their own workplaces. ...

Average hourly pay gains remained modest in July, increasing 2.7 percent from a year earlier, the same as the previous two months. That has puzzled Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and many economists. Typically, when unemployment has fallen below 4 percent in the past, wages have increased at a faster pace. With rising gas prices pushing up inflation, Americans...

By Kurt Erickson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aug 2, 2018

JEFFERSON CITY • Missouri voters will get a chance to weigh in on legalizing medical marijuana, tightening government ethics laws and raising the minimum wage in November, after state officials approved five ballot initiatives Thursday. ... Also on the ballot will be a question on whether to raise Missouri's minimum wage to $12 by 2023. The current minimum wage is $7.85 an hour.

Supporters say phasing in the increase will give businesses adequate time to adjust to the higher costs.

Scott Sandler, owner of Pizza Head in St. Louis, is among...

By Rudi Keller
Columbia Daily Tribune, Aug 2, 2018

... Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft on Thursday certified five ballot measures for the Nov. 6 election. ...

The two other initiatives approved Thursday have strong campaigns backing their efforts. Missouri’s minimum wage is currently $7.85 an hour, a level 60 cents higher than the federal minimum thanks to an inflation adjustment included in a 2006 ballot measure. If passed, the minimum would increase to $8.60 on Jan. 1 and go up 85 cents a year until it reaches $12.

“Missouri’s minimum wage of $7.85 an hour...

By Allison Kite
Kansas City Star, Aug 2, 2018

... Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft on Thursday certified five initiative petitions to appear on November’s general election ballot. ... The fifth petition would raise the minimum wage to $8.65 per hour next year and boost it by $0.85 each year until it reaches $12 per hour in 2023. ...

Raise Up Missouri and Missouri Business for a Fair Minimum Wage both support raising the minimum wage and urged Missourians to vote “yes” in a release after Ashcroft’s announcement. Both argue that raising the minimum wage will...