Ballot Effort Underway To Raise Michigan Minimum Wage
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Groups backing an increase in Michigan's minimum wage laid the groundwork Monday for a statewide ballot drive in November, forming a committee that is very likely to commence with collecting hundreds of thousands of signatures needed to qualify.
"People who work hard, shouldn't have to wait for out of touch politicians to act and do the right thing – and raise the minimum wage," said Rebecca Hatley-Watkins, 23, of Kalamazoo, who is married, the mother of one and a Michigan United member. "If you work full-time you shouldn't live in poverty."
"It is impossible to raise a child on a job that pays minimum wage. I worked full time and still only brought home one third of the amount I needed to get a decent apartment. Not to mention childcare costs. Sometimes it feels like I am just working to pay someone else to raise my child," said Cori Johnson, a 24 year-old mother of one in Detroit who is a member of Mothering Justice.
Gov. Rick Snyder and various state legislative leaders have indicated that they will not take up the bills this year. Last fall, Snyder stated that raising the minimum wage was not a "significant issue" for his administration, and that raising minimum wage could have negative consequences.
"Our politicians in Lansing and D.C. have failed workers. There are a lot of people who work hard who've been waiting for a raise," said Frank Houston, treasurer of the Raise Michigan ballot committee.
Michigan's $7.40-an-hour minimum wage last went up in 2008 and is slightly higher than the $7.25 federal hourly minimum. Republicans have not embraced calls by both President Barack Obama and Michigan Democrats to raise the minimum wage to $10 at the federal and state levels. Democrats are planning to make income inequality a top issue this election year.
"All indications are that we're highly likely to move forward," said Houston, who also is chairman of the Oakland County Democratic Party. "We fully expect Michigan to be the No. 1 place in the country where we're having a conversation around economic dignity and inequality."
The coalition involved includes labor unions, community organizers, a restaurant worker center, and faith-based and civil rights groups. The groups sent out statements Monday from low-wage mothers who said their income is not enough to get by.
"If you work full-time you shouldn't live in poverty," said Rebecca Hatley-Watkins, 23, of Kalamazoo.
Shannon Bryson, 33, of Muskegon is a single mom with two kids, who works part time at a fast food chain and earns minimum wage. "By the time I pay for gas to get to and from work, there's not much left of my pay check. Raising the minimum wage could do a lot for mothers like me," she said. "I see people evicted from their homes because they don't earn enough to pay their rent, and during this cold, cold winter, I see children whose parents can't afford to dress them warmly enough."
A final decision to proceed is expected within days. The proposal would likely aim to change a state statute, not change the state constitution. The minimum wage would rise to the "ballpark" of between $9 and $10.10 an hour and be indexed to inflation, Houston said.
Republicans have said hiking the minimum wage would hurt employers' ability to hire people. The restaurant industry says it already operates on thin margins and argues sharply higher wages would lead to steeper prices.
"If Michigan increases the cost of employing entry-level workers, lower-skilled workers will see less job opportunities because employers will be forced to hire higher-skilled job applicants to fill multiple roles or cut jobs to absorb the costs associated with the increase," said Wendy Block, director of health policy and human resources for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
The group said businesses already are grappling with costs associated with the federal health care law and that government should focus on helping people get jobs, not make it more expensive to hire them.
"People who work hard, shouldn't have to wait for out of touch politicians to act and do the right thing – and raise the minimum wage," said Rebecca Hatley-Watkins, 23, of Kalamazoo, who is married, the mother of one and a Michigan United member. "If you work full-time you shouldn't live in poverty."
Said Cori Johnson, a 24 year-old mother of one in Detroit, "It is impossible to raise a child on a job that pays minimum wage. I worked full time and still only brought home one third of the amount I needed to get a decent apartment. Not to mention childcare costs. Sometimes it feels like I am just working to pay someone else to raise my child."
In November, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer proposed increasing the hourly minimum to $9.25 over three years. He said it would aid the consumer-driven economy by putting more money in employees' pockets and give low-wage workers the same buying power as 1968, when the wage had its highest purchasing power.
A message seeking comment was left by the AP for Republican Gov. Snyder, who is up for re-election.
Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson, who has wanted to avoid ballot issues this year to stay focused on candidate campaigns, said in a statement that it was not surprising to see "a lot of energy surrounding this issue. Democrats at all levels are fighting to increase the minimum wage because we believe that people who work hard and play by the rules deserve a fair shot at supporting themselves and their families."
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