Michigan minimum wage hike won't appear on November ballot
(CBS DETROIT) - Late last week, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled against allowing an initiative that would have raised Michigan's minimum wage to $15 an hour to appear on the November ballot.
Advocates on both sides say the fight isn't over.
"What we're focused on is trying to make sure that people understand that Republicans, year after year, have been trying to keep voters and workers from voting on and getting the raise that they deserve," said Justin Onwenu, the campaign treasurer for Raise the Wage Michigan. "We're going to keep on fighting back."
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers deadlocked in an earlier decision over whether to approve the initiative. Raise the Wage Michigan gathered over 300,000 signatures, but the Board of State Canvassers noted that the language on the petition was slightly different than what was initially approved, disqualifying the initiative from appearing on the ballot.
"We want to give the court space to make their decision. We respect their decision-making process, but we want to see the court take action to protect our democracy and uplift workers," said Onwenu.
Those who have fought against raising the wage in Michigan for fear of negative consequences for tipped workers celebrated the ruling.
"It's a relief for the servers and bartenders across Michigan. The problem is just that there's this other huge case hanging over all their heads," said John Selleck, a spokesperson for Save MI Tips. "The 2018 adopt and amend case that's still in the hands of the Michigan Supreme Court."
The 2018 court case to which he is referring has to do with an effort that would have raised the minimum wage in Michigan to $12 an hour. That effort was adopted by the legislature six years ago and then amended in a way advocates say diluted it.
Selleck says that the same concern lies here too: that changing the minimum wage will have a negative impact on tipped workers.
"If One Fair Wage gets its way, they're going to basically wipe out the tipping operation between customers and servers," he said. "They're going to replace it with a minimum wage, say it's $12, say it's $15 an hour. That's not nearly close to the income that servers and bartenders are earning now."
A decision on the 2018 case is expected to come down from the Michigan Supreme Court in the coming days.