| Advertisement |
WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Voters in four states gave themselves a raise Tuesday, approving initiatives to raise the minimum wage to at least $12 by 2020 -- an increase of more than $4 per hour for employees in some states. Colorado, Arizona and Maine voters approved a gradual increase of the minimum wage to $12 by 2020, and voters in Washington approved an increase to $13.50 within four years, with all four state's minimums increasing for cost of living after 2020.
Advertisement
While none of the four votes reflect the call for a national $15-per-hour minimum wage -- such as the one Seattle, a major city in Washington, enacted for itself last year -- voter approval of the salary hikes suggests many agree that the minimum wage is too low.
Most states have a minimum wage above the federally-required $7.25 per hour, but few link their minimum wages to the cost of living or require sick leave, as at least one of the states approving a wage initiative now have.
The wage increase will help people who "work two or three jobs and have almost no family life," Judy Clinco, the chief executive of Catalina In-Home Services and employer of lower-wage home healthcare workers, told The Wall Street Journal. "The increase will allow them to advance themselves."
In Colorado, the minimum wage will increase from $8.31 per hour to $9.30 starting in 2017, and increase by 90 cents a year until it reaches $12 per hour.
In Maine, the minimum wage will increase from $7.50 per hour to $9 per hour next year, and go up by $1 per year until 2020.
Arizona voters approved an increase from $8.05 per hour to $12 per hour by 2020, and employers will now be required to guarantee sick leave, as will Washington, whose minimum wage will increase from $9.47 per hour to $13.50 by 2020.
"[This] resounding win for economic equality sends a strong message to all of Washington: If you're not working to create a fair economy, we'll do it ourselves," said Jonathan Schleifer, executive director of The Fairness Project.
