California voters rejected a ballot measure that would have raised the minimum wage to the highest in the country.
Proposition 32 was rejected by a slim margin, with 50.8% opposing and 49.2% supporting, with 100% of precincts reporting, according to the unofficial tally and the Associated Press. The measure would have raised the minimum wage to $18 an hour by 2026, the highest in the country.
Read More
Vice President Kamala Harris gave a speech last week to accompany the release of her 82-page economic planning document. While her words were intended to evoke optimism, the implications of the plan are troubling for America’s future.
To begin with, the plan must be placed in context.
Read More
Seattle employees making the minimum wage will see a mandatory raise starting next year, making them the highest paid minimum wage workers in the country.
Starting at the beginning of 2025, all employers regardless of size will be required to pay their employees at least $20.76 an hour.
Read More
The American job market has significantly downshifted as consumers, who drive the economy, are tapped out from the ongoing cost-of-living crisis under the Biden-Harris administration.
According to Friday’s employment report, only 115,000 jobs were created in July (67,000 using the more accurate household survey).
Read More
The King County Council has approved an ordinance that will increase the minimum wage in unincorporated parts of King County.
The legislation increases minimum wage to a high of $20.29, which ties the cities of Tukwila and Renton for the highest minimum wage in the nation.
Read More
All fast-food employees, regardless of age, will see a $20 an hour minimum wage in California, while the federal minimum wage is between $4.25 and $7.25, depending on age and length of time working.
California fast-food chains are laying off workers, raising prices and deciding against opening new stores as the state implements a minimum wage that is more than 175 percent higher than that required by the federal government.
Read More
Minimum wage hikes in many states around the country and sky-high inflation are crushing independent restaurants that don’t want to raise prices on their customers, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In January, 22 states raised their minimum wage for hourly workers, according to the WSJ. Around 59 percent of small business owners said that higher labor costs were the biggest source of inflation in January, requiring price hikes to maintain current revenue levels.
Read More
Beginning April 1, the minimum wage for employees working in California’s fast food chains and health care industries will rise to $20 per hour and, in some cases, up to $23 per hour. Many employers managing independent restaurants, retail, and other industries will have to match the higher hourly rate to retain employees. And for hourly employees whose wages are indexed to the minimum wage, mostly in California’s unionized public sector, wages will rise proportionately.
There is no national consensus on the impact of minimum-wage laws. It is part of a much larger debate over what constitutes an optimal economic environment to enable, quoting from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “economic security and independence.”
Read More