BFMW In the News

By Sean MacKinnon
KETV Omaha (7 ABC), Oct 14, 2022

In a joint statement today, over 300 Nebraska business owners came forward in favor of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

They say if employees get paid more, they'll also spend more as consumers. Business owners fr0m Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Hastings and North Platte spoke out.

Dave Titterington, owner of Wild Bird Habitat store, says employees should be rewarded for good customer service.

"If you invest in your employees, you're going to have customers come in that are satisfied. You're going to have repeat customers and they're going to tell your friends, family and neighbors and that will draw more business into your location," Titterington said.

By Talmon Joseph Smith
New York Times, Oct. 14, 2022

With Americans resuming prepandemic habits of going out, eating out and traveling, leisure and hospitality businesses have scrambled to hire, sometimes offering pay increases that outpace inflation. But for many whose pay is linked to tips, like restaurant servers and bartenders, base wages remain low, and collecting what is owed under the law can be a struggle. ...

Some employers who could use the two-tier wage system are taking a different approach.

By: Isabella Basco
KMTV Omaha (CBS 3), Oct 14, 2022

If you're earning minimum wage, you could see more money in your pocket by 2026. A Nebraska ballot initiative would gradually raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by then.

While hundreds of business owners and executives support the measure, that's not the case for everyone.

Amelia Rosser owns Sheelytown Market, which is an Omaha plant nursery. She also cares for her employees the way she cares for the greenery.

"My business would only be right if I'm profitable and I'm paying people right and I'm taking care of my people," Rosser said.

By Matt Brown
KETV Omaha (7 ABC) Omaha, Oct 11, 2022

Nebraska initiative 433 would raise the state's minimum wage from $9 an hour to $15 an hour by 2026. 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 Ryan Lynch
Orlando Business Journal, Oct 6, 2022

Orlando residents saw a bump on average to their average weekly pay when compared to a year ago. ...

Increased wages come as the state's hourly minimum wage grew from $10 to $11 on Sept. 30. The minimum wage for tipped employees also increased at the end of last month, from $6.98 to $7.98 per hour.

Florida citizens voted to raise the minimum wage in 2020 to $15 an hour by 2026, with a dollar increase per year. Some groups, like the Florida Business for a Fair Minimum Wage coalition, have said that was good for business, including Jared Meyers, who owns Legacy Vacation Resorts in Orlando, Kissimmee, Palm Coast and Indian Shores.

By Anna Jean Kaiser
Miami Herald, Sep 29, 2022

Florida’s minimum wage will increase to $11 an hour on Friday, the second boost in a series of annual raises that will eventually bring it to $15 an hour. The pay raise is a result of an amendment to the Florida Constitution that 61% of voters approved in a 2020 ballot measure. ...

Some business associations fought the change ... while others campaigned for it. Jennifer Todd, the owner of LMS General Contractors based in Pompano Beach, is a member of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a national coalition of business owners that campaigns for minimum wage increases. Todd has 10 employees and said she welcomes the increase. ...

By Adam Uzialko
business.com, Updated Sep 20, 2022

Employees who earn enough to get by improve performance and overall business.

Paying a “living wage” requires more than just meeting state and federal minimum wage requirements. Living in certain communities is more expensive and requires people to earn more to sustain basic life necessities. As an employer, paying a living wage can feel like a burden to the bottom line, but it can be a powerful investment in your people that positively affects revenues.

By William Padmore, Host/Reporter and Jackie Ourada, Morning Edition Host & Reporter Nebraska Public Media
Nebraska Public Media (PBS, NPR), Sep 6, 2022

Questions over raising Nebraska's minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026 and requiring photo identification to vote will be put to voters this November. ...

Lincoln business owner Dave Titterington said he supports businesses paying their employees more. He said he's seen it help his Wildlife Bird Habitat stores retain employees.

"It's a real benefit for our store to pay those employees a decent wage because they stay with us," Titterington said. "If we end up short because someone's off sick, they're always willing to fill in."

By Jordan Himes
8ABC, KLKN-TV, Lincoln, Sep 6, 2022

Watch video for interview with Dave Titterington, Owner, Wild Bird Habitat Stores

WATCH VIDEO

By Martha Stoddard, Erin Bamer
Omaha World Herald, Sep 6, 2022 

Nebraskans will decide this November about requiring people to present identification to vote and about raising the state’s minimum wage. Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced Tuesday that both petitions had garnered enough signatures to qualify for the general election ballot. ...

Nebraska Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a group of business owners, called Tuesday’s announcement “good news.” The group said that gradually raising the minimum wage would bolster local businesses and the economy.

Voters passed a similar ballot initiative in 2014 to boost the Nebraska minimum wage above the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. ...

Nebraska Rural Radio Association, KTIC
Sep 6, 2022

Raise the Wage Nebraska (RTWN) received notice today from the Nebraska Secretary of State that the citizen-led initiative petition to raise the minimum wage has qualified for the November ballot. ...

Rick Poore, owner of Shirts 101 in Lincoln, said, “Raising the minimum wage will help Nebraska’s workers make ends meet and boost our economy. ...

10/11 NOW, Sep. 6, 2022

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced Tuesday that county elections officials have completed their task of verifying signatures submitted as part of the Voter ID Constitutional Amendment and Nebraska Minimum Wage Statute Initiative, and both will appear on the ballot for the November general election.

The Nebraska Minimum Wage Statute Initiative would gradually raise the minimum wage over four years, adding $1.50 annually until it hits the $15 goal by 2026. ...

Morrow Collision Center, located in Lincoln, said bumping up worker pay is one tool they’ve used to battle turnover in an evolving job market.

By Joe Harris
Fox42, KPTM, Sep 6, 2022

OMAHA—It's a proposal that would raise the state minimum wage in four steps. First, it would take it from $9.00 an hour to $10.50 on Jan. 1. By 2026, it would be $15.00 per hour. This fall, Nebraskans will have the chance to decide the measure's fate at the polls.

The group Nebraska Business for a Fair Minimum Wage supports the idea of raising it. Member Mike Draper, who also owns Raygun stores, said the federal minimum wage hasn't changed in more than a decade.

"It's at $7.25, so it's really this anomaly in the economy that is frozen in time, whereas everything else has increased," Draper said. ... Draper said, if passed, [the Nebraska raise] wouldn't be that much of a shock to many businesses.

By Jacob Comer and Brian Mastre
6 News WOWT (NBC), Omaha, Sep. 6, 2022 

Nebraska residents will be voting on two initiatives this November. According to Secretary of State Bob Evnen, election officials have verified the signatures for two different ballot initiatives: the Voter ID Constitutional Amendment and Nebraska Minimum Wage Statute. ...

The Minimum Wage Statute would raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026. ...

Some businesses say the wage increase would directly benefit thousands of Nebraska residents.

Raygun Clothing employs 110 people in all sorts of different jobs across a number of midwest communities. From here in Omaha in the Old Market, to Kansas City, Chicago and four cities in Iowa - including Des Moines and Iowa City.

By Tim Murphy
City & State New York, Sep 6, 2022

... a coalition of state lawmakers and advocates will push in next year's legislative session to raise the minimum wage incrementally over the next few years ...

One business owner already on board is Jonathon Welch, owner of Talking Leaves Books in Buffalo, who starts his staffers at just above the upstate minimum wage of $13.20 but also has workers currently making as much as $18.

“People need to make a living wage, which the current minimum wage is not,” he said. “But also, if people make more money, then they’re able to spend more and also don't have to be on food stamps ...”