News: State minimum wage ballot measures to watch

Monday, October 7, 2024

State minimum wage ballot measures to watch

Oct 07, 2024

With help from Nick Niedzwiadek

QUICK FIX

LEAVING IT TO THE STATES: As progress on increasing the federal minimum wage has stalled, voters in several states could approve pay raises for tipped and service workers at the ballot box next month.

The issue has taken on renewed political significance as Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump and lawmakers in both parties unveil dueling proposals for eliminating federal taxes on tips, a move experts fear may be too costly.

Powerful business groups have also lined up in opposition to the state proposals, with some launching high-dollar efforts to shape public opinion about how the measures would be bad for workers.

Here are some states to keep an eye on.

— Massachusetts’ tipped workers could make $15/hour under the state’s Question 5 ballot measure, an increase from the current $6.75 minimum.

The measure has drawn intense opposition from the Committee to Protect Tips, a coalition of restaurant groups rolling out television ads arguing that the pay hike will hurt restaurant workers. The group spent approximately $700,000 on ads last month and plans to spend $3 million during the final month before the election.

“It's a simple fact that the more voters learn about this ballot question, the more they know to vote no,” Chris Keohan, a spokesperson for the group, told Shift.

— California’s Proposition 32 will give voters the chance to raise the state’s minimum wage to $18/hour next year for employers with 26 or more employees, giving the Golden State a path to the highest pay floor in the nation.

The measure has also run into serious pushback from business groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, and a poll from the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies released last week found that only 46 percent of likely voters plan to vote yes.

— Arizona could reduce its state minimum wage through its Republican-backed Proposition 138 that some groups argue is misleading to voters with its name, the Tipped Workers Protection Act.

Businesses would be able to pay workers $10.77, less than the current $11.35 minimum wage for restaurant workers, as long as the workers’ tipped pay brings their earnings to $2 more than the hourly minimum wage.

— Missouri’s Proposition A would gradually raise the state’s pay floor from $12.30/hour to $13.75/hour by 2025 and $15/hour by 2026. The proposal would also require employers with 15 or more employees to provide workers with one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours they work.

— An expansive labor standards referendum in Alaska would hike the state’s minimum wage to $15/hour by 2027 and prohibit companies from punishing workers for choosing not to attend captive audience meetings, employer-sponsored gatherings that discuss political or religious topics.

GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, Oct. 7. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related immigration. Send feedback, tips and exclusives to nniedzwiadek@politico.com and lukenye@politico.com. Follow us on X at @NickNiedz and @Lawrence_Ukenye.

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In the Workplace

LABOR-RELATED FILINGS: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up more than a dozen new cases, including several with labor law implications.

Here’s what SCOTUS has on deck.

The high court will weigh in on Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, in which a woman claimed she was discriminated against as she was demoted to clear the way for a gay employee.

Justices will also take up Cunningham v. Cornell University, a case involving a technical dispute over when someone can bring a lawsuit against a fiduciary under ERISA for prohibited transaction claims.

FIRST IN SHIFT: Unions, strong labor standards and domestic sourcing requirements are key to supporting manufacturing jobs, a Center for American Progress report released Monday found.

What is says: “As construction of manufacturing facilities nears completion, labor unions will prove to be effective partners in training new cohorts of workers with the skills needed for manufacturing EV batteries, semiconductors, and clean energy components; retaining a skilled workforce in advanced manufacturing; and overseeing facility progress toward the commitments they made to offering good jobs,” the report reads.

Good to know: The Biden administration signed an executive order last month aimed at strengthening labor standards for federally-funded projects and prioritizing projects that include voluntary union recognition for workers.

IN THE STATES

WAIT AND SEE: A vote last week could change how 24,000 Florida teachers are represented and deliver a huge win to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has sought to curb teachers unions in the state, our Andrew Atterbury reported.

Context: Results are currently being tallied to determine whether educators will continue being represented by United Teachers of Dade — as they’ve been for nearly five decades — the conservative-backed Miami-Dade Education Coalition, or no union at all.

The election came after a Florida law raised the threshold for unions to be state certified by requiring them to sign up 60 percent of eligible employees.

How we got here: DeSantis and other GOP lawmakers in other states have dialed up their attacks against teachers unions after educators feuded with officials about pandemic-related school closures and indoor masking.

More states news: "California vineyard owner says he was fined $120K for providing free housing to his employee," from The Associated Press.

Even more: "Washington state fines paper mill $650,000 after an employee is killed," from The Associated Press.

On the Hill

PAID TIME OFF FOR TROOPS: Lawmakers are mulling whether to expand paid leave for federal workers who also serve in the National Guard and reserves, Government Executive reported.

A House proposal in Congress’ annual defense legislation would hike the paid leave cap from 15 to 20 days, and a bill introduced last week Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) would increase leave to 36 days, the current minimum days members of the National Guard and reserves are required to serve.

IMMIGRATION

LIPS ARE SEALED: As the vice president’s border rhetoric shifts rightward, immigration advocates are keeping quiet due to fears about what Trump’s potential return to the White House would mean for millions of undocumented immigrants, The Washington Post reports.

"The strategy is temporarily masking a debate in the Democratic Party that is certain to erupt into view should Harris win, as Democrats who want the party to embrace tougher border promises in recognition of the public’s hardening views clash with those who believe a more welcoming approach is at the core of the party’s identity," the Post writes.

The dynamic is also playing out on policy fronts like climate change and gun control, leaving an opening for Trump to attack Harris for modifying her positions to appear more moderate.

WHAT WE'RE READING

— "How Walmart’s Donna Morris Manages the Largest Work Force in America," from The New York Times.

— Opinion: "Port Workers Get a Raise. Now Comes the Hard Part," from Bloomberg.

— “More Black and Latina women are leading unions - and transforming how they work,” from The Associated Press.

— "Trump’s false claim of ‘EV mandate’ gains traction in Michigan," from POLITICO.

— "Job growth blows away expectations, in boost for Harris," from POLITICO.

THAT’S YOUR SHIFT!

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