By Annelise Hanshaw
It is the first of five initiative petitions the Secretary of State’s office expects to deliver signatures this week.
(Photo- Daniel Tucker, a leader with the Missouri Workers Center, teaches chants customized to an initiative petition to raise the minimum wage and mandate paid sick leave outside of the Secretary of State's office building in Jefferson City Wednesday- Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).
Petitioners need at least 107,246 signatures to make the ballot. A spokesperson for the Secretary of State said the office expects to complete the verification process around Aug. 8.
Petitioners need at least 107,246 signatures to make the ballot. A spokesperson for the Secretary of State said the office expects to complete the verification process around Aug. 8.
If approved by voters, the petition would raise the state’s minimum wage to $13.75 beginning in January 2025 and $15 in 2026, with annual cost-of-living increases after that. It also seeks to set the minimum paid sick leave to one hour per 30 hours worked and paid sick leave would extend to caring for family members.
Marieta Ortiz, a restaurant worker from Kansas City who helped gather signatures, said during a rally at the Secretary of State’s office in Jefferson City that this petition would benefit her as a mom of three, with a fourth child due this summer.
“I’ve spent multiple hours in the hospital losing pay over my sick kid,” she said. “As an expecting mom again, I’m going to automatically choose my kids no matter what.”
The petition’s organizers, Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages, rallied inside the Secretary of State’s office building after turning in boxes of signatures. Speakers said paid sick leave was just as important as a $15 minimum wage.
Alejandro Gallardo, a food-service worker from Columbia who gathered signatures, said he has to weigh the risks when he begins feeling sick. He needs to get paid, he said, but he doesn’t want to put himself and others at risk.
“It is a constant stress, a constant anxiety,” Gallardo said during the rally. “People come into work sick all the time because they have no choice.”
DeMarco Davidson, executive director of Metropolitan Congregations United, said Wednesday that the initiative is part of a historical movement to secure better wages.
“Today is the accumulation of years, years and years of people organizing and building power together to bring us here to this point,” he said.
The minimum wage is currently $12.30, a product of Proposition B in 2018 which raised the minimum wage from $7.85 to $12 in five years with cost-of-living adjustments thereafter. The 2018 initiative won over 62.3% of voters.
Before that, voters approved a minimum-wage hike in 2006, which raised the floor to $6.50 or the federal minimum wage, whichever is higher. It was passed with nearly 75% of the vote that year.
20 comments:
Raising minimum wage really doesn't make things any better. The employers raise the cost of there products to cover the increased costs to pay employees. Landlords increase rent to cover the increase cost of products needed for up keep. It's just a cycle the never ends. People are still struggling just as they were before they started the increase in 2018. The people that are affected by it the most are those on fixed incomes. People on fixed incomes do not get an increase that matches.
get ready for another round of inflation. Your happy meals will not be $15.95. Minimum wage has always been a training wage, not meant to be a “living” wage
It's really neat how people are like "This will cause inflation". No, it's putting corporate greed on display.
Last year the CEO of McDonalds made $19 MILLION, which is an 8% increase over the previous year. When is the last time ANYONE doing real work received an 8% raise?
The truth of the matter is that nobody needs to be that rich, but they will continue to screw and gouge their customers and employees to ensure their paychecks get fatter every year.
You're a raging fool
@9:32 is really flexing their frontal lobe today. Good job on insulting people instead of contributing to a conversation.
Missouri just got to the $12 minimum wage. Some of us predicted this would follow. After this it will be a push to $17 and then $20. Minimum wage is intended for people entering the work force with minimal or no skills. And even then most jobs at restaurants and fast food places or retail stores pay more than minimum wage. What this really does is hurt everyone just above that rate--police officers, city workers, teachers, etc. Someone in high school working part-time will make almost as much as per hour as a police officer or teacher. Except cities and school districts can't just raise the salaries for their workers. They have to pass additional taxes that no one wanting the rate increase will want to pay or will pay so the tax will not be voter approved.
People put the effort in and earn a living you can’t lean on the government your entire life. I’ve worked since I was 15 and always made more than minimum wage, you just have to want to better yourself, it just takes working and keeping your damn mouth shut and doing what your told it’s that easy
Do what I say 516: shut the hell up and get in line with the rest of the goatropers. You have nothing intelligible to say.
LMAO @5:16. Wasn't "Shut up and do what your told" some kind of Nazi motto?
You people against this are genuinely disgusting people that should be ashamed of yourselves.
When the boss says no raise you gotta start doing less work.
I hope you fools enjoy $30 Big Mac’s, , you have no idea how to do without. But you will 🤣
I’m guessing your easily replaceable
You’ve never done a hard days work in your whole life
You are correct
Like you would know anything about me. Try harder, loser.
I know all I need to know you’re an idiot. You’ve never earned anything that’s why you support this you are a part of the gender confused party, still on mom’s phone plan living in her basement playing video games. You are a parasite slowly killing this country
451 needs medicated.
Go get your Covid shot, and big glass of kool aid
It just makes them feel like they are making more money, they will never get it, it’s like trying to have conversation with a fence post
How dare these people expecting to be paid a livable wage for their work!
They should get pennies and be thankful, after all, how else are these CEOs, Presidents, and shareholders going to get paid? Don't you people realize how hard it is for these fine folks to live on a meager $40 million a year?
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