BFMW In the News

Amsterdam News, Nov 17, 2022

On Nov. 15, Raise Up NY, Senate Labor Chair Jessica Ramos, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Comptroller Brad Lander gathered to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Fight for $15 with a rally at City Hall, and to launch a new campaign for a $21 minimum wage for New York. 

The coalition, known as Raise Up NY, which includes workers, labor unions, community organizations, and businesses, demanded that the New York State legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul act swiftly to raise New York State’s minimum wage, which has eroded dramatically in recent years as the cost of living has spiraled. ...

By Nebraska Business for a Fair Minimum Wage
Omaha Daily Record, Nov 14, 2022

Nebraska business owners are celebrating the passage of Initiative 433, saying raising the minimum wage will boost consumer spending, strengthen Nebraska’s workforce, and bolster local businesses. Initiative 433 will gradually raise the state minimum wage by $1.50 a year until it reaches $15 in 2026.

By  Isabella Basco
KMTV (CBS 3 Omaha). Nov 10, 2022. Also Yahoo News.

... Hundreds of businesses supported the decision to raise the minimum wage. They joined a coalition saying so. ...

When Lindsey Clements opened her business, Vis Major Brewing in Omaha, she was paying her employees $12 an hour. But during the pandemic she decided to start paying her new employees at the starting wage of $16 an hour. I'm able to retain great employees with that. So I'm spending less time trying to hire and train. Having that loyalty and longevity with each of our staff members is a great asset. ...

[Raising the minimum wage] is going to help individuals from all walks of life improve their quality of life. To me, we're well overdue. ...

By Zachary Halaschak
Washington Examiner, Nov 10, 2022

Voters in two states and Washington, D.C., approved ballot measures during this year’s midterm elections that will raise the minimum wage...

In Nebraska, voters approved Initiative 433, which incrementally raises the minimum wage in the ruby-red Cornhusker State from its current $9-per-hour level to $15 over the next four years. ...

Several groups supported the ballot measure, including Nebraska Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, which touted more than 300 businesses as part of its coalition.

By Linda Poon and Amelia Pollard
Bloomberg, Nov 9, 2022

... A slate of ballot measures pertaining to economic inequality were also presented to voters Tuesday, with many of them passing. Initiative 433 in Nebraska will bump the minimum wage of $9 per hour — one of the lowest among states — to $15 per hour, one of the highest, by 2026. The passage in a state as conservative as Nebraska, which elected three Republican representatives to Congress on Tuesday, signals that raising the minimum wage has become a bipartisan issue. 

Nebraska is projected to adopt a $15 minimum wage for workers after support from 59% of voters in the state.

ABC News, Nov 9, 2022

Some business owners, like Amelia Rosser, the owner of Sheelytown Market Garden, say a higher minimum wage would help businesses keep employees.

"I don't want turnover," Rosser said. "I want to have the people here who also want to be doing this forever and working right alongside me in a partnership."

While Rosser is already paying her employees $15 an hour, she hopes voters pass initiative 433. ...

In a public hearing at University of Nebraska Omaha, supporters and opponents made their case. ...

By Jake Johnson
Common Dreams, Nov 9, 2022

Nebraskans voted Tuesday to incrementally raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026 as corporate price hikes continue to eat into workers' paychecks and the federal wage floor remains stuck at a paltry $7.25. The ballot measure, known as Initiative 433, succeeded by a vote of 58.2% to 41.8% despite opposition from influential corporate lobbying groups in the state, including the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce. ...

While some Nebraska business organizations campaigned against Initiative 433—trotting out the well-worn and debunked argument that a minimum wage hike would come at the expense of jobs—more than 300 small business owners in the state publicly endorsed the ballot measure.

By Zachary Halaschak
Washington Examiner, Nov 9, 2022

Nebraskans have approved a ballot measure that would gradually increase the state’s minimum wage to $15, making it the latest red state to adopt the policy position long championed by those on the Left. ...

“Raising the minimum wage will enable workers to spend more at local businesses across Nebraska,” said Denise Bowyer of Nebraska Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, according to KETV. ...

Read more

By McKenzie Johnson
KLKN-TV (Channel 8 ABC), Lincoln, Nov 9, 2022

Nebraska workers making less than $15 an hour will be seeing a pay bump in the near future. But what do businesses think of this new wage increase? ...

Steph Terry, director of operations and human relations for Morrow Collision Center, said this is something that could benefit everyone.

“We’ve found that over the years, paying our employees a fair wage just increases their quality of work,” she said. “It makes them more loyal to us as a company and it also just increases morale. It also helps our employees stick around a lot longer.”

Terry said they had to raise their wages a while ago and they’re already hiring above the $15 mark.

By Samantha Bernt
10/11 NOW (Lincoln), Nov. 7, 2022. Also KNOP-TV (NBC 2) North Platte, NBC Nebraska Scottsbluff, KSNB-TV (NBC 4) Hastings.

One of the two initiatives for voters on Tuesday’s ballot will be to decide if Nebraska should raise minimum wage. ...

“For years now, wages just have not caught up with the cost of living and it makes it very difficult for families raising children who have to make the difficult decisions to put food on the table or pay their rent,” said Kate Wolfe, campaign manager for Raise the Wage Nebraska.

By Alma Cerretta
Lincoln Journal Star, Letter to Editor, Nov 2, 2022. See full op-ed in Omaha World Herald.

As a small business owner, I’m glad that minimum wage is on the ballot.

Initiative 433 gives us all a way to move Nebraska forward by raising the minimum wage.

When we opened Mana Games Café, we knew we wanted to avoid the low-pay, high-turnover, low-morale business model that’s been way too common in our industry – an industry that’s supposed to be about service and hospitality.

Op-Ed By Holly Sklar
Yahoo News, Nov 3, 2022, The Intelligencer (PA), Sep 29, 2022. Also York Daily Record, Bucks County Courier Times, Tri County Record, others in PA. Previously in Birmingham News, Seattle Times, Mobile Press Register, PennLive/Harrisburg Patriot News, many more. Distributed by American Forum.

The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 per hour for 13 years. That’s just $15,080 a year if you work full time.

Prices are up. Corporate profits hit record highs. But the minimum wage has stayed at $7.25 since the last increase on July 24, 2009.

By Will Bauer
Nebraska Public Media (PBS, NPR), Nov. 3, 2022

On Election Day, Nebraska voters will decide whether the state’s $9 per hour minimum wage should gradually be bumped to $15 or remain the same. ...

"I believe that small businesses can't afford not to pay more because it keeps us competitive,” said Mikaela Krueger, owner of Optika Curated Eyewear in Hastings.

She's also a member of Nebraska Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a coalition of nearly 300 small business owners from across the state who support the initiative. ...

Op-Ed By Alma Cerretta, Owner, Mana Games Cafe

As a small business owner, I’m glad that minimum wage is on the ballot. Initiative 433 gives us all a way to move Nebraska forward by raising the minimum wage. ... Minimum wage increases are a two-way street. More money goes into worker’s paychecks and more money gets spent by workers and their families at local businesses. ...

Letter to Editor By Cinnamon Dokken
Lincoln Journal Star, Oct 28, 2022

You wouldn’t know from the recent article, “Backers, foes of ballot initiatives make final pitch at public hearing,” (Oct. 19) that there is strong business support for Initiative 433. As the owner of A Novel Idea Bookstore in Lincoln, I support raising the minimum wage and provided testimony presented at the hearing. Lincoln businesses Firespring, Moose’s Tooth Outdoor and Cycle Works also testified in support of Initiative 433.