HomeTop StoriesMinimum wages are rising this year in nearly half the states, including...

Minimum wages are rising this year in nearly half the states, including Virginia

Supporters of a minimum wage increase gathered at the Capitol on the eve of the 2020 General Assembly. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)

The minimum wage will rise in nearly half the states this year, even as the federal wage floor remains stuck at $7.25 an hour.

In many states, the minimum wage is automatically adjusted upward as inflation rises. But voters in several states, including deep-red states like Alaska and Missouri, opted in November to significantly increase their minimum wages this year.

Michigan will see its minimum wage rise from $10.33 to $12.48 on Feb. 21, after the state Supreme Court concluded that the Legislature undermined residents when it passed voter-initiated ballot measures in 2018, but then significantly changed to increase the minimum wage and make sick leave mandatory.

Michigan’s wage floor is expected to rise to $14.97 by 2028 — more than double the federal minimum wage, which hasn’t increased since 2009. That’s the longest period without a federal increase since Congress first established a minimum wage in 1938.

A total of thirty states and the District of Columbia have set their own minimum wage higher than the federal rate. And 67 places – including Denver; Flagstaff, Arizona; and Los Angeles — have raised their minimum wages above the state minimum, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.

Currently, ten states have a minimum wage of $15 or higher: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington.

Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Missouri and Nebraska are on track to reach the $15 benchmark in the coming years. Such a move in red states should push Republicans, who control Congress and the White House, to raise the national wage floor, argued Richard von Glahn, the political director of the Missouri Jobs with Justice union.

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“We should have Republican lawmakers look and see what their own constituents are telling them and say, ‘You know, maybe they’re on to something here and maybe I should follow their lead,’” he said.

Von Glahn led a successful campaign to raise Missouri’s minimum wage from $12.30 by 2024 to $15 an hour by next January, through a ballot initiative in November that also guaranteed sick leave for many workers.

While a tight labor market forces many employers to pay above the minimum wage to compete, von Glahn noted that many workers are still earning at or near the lowest statutory rate. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that more than half a million Missouri workers will see an increase as the state’s minimum wage rises.

“That kind of proves why this is so necessary, why these guardrails are so important,” he said.

For Kaamilya Hobbs, the Missouri law means she can expect to earn at least an extra 31 cents an hour once she returns to work at Arby’s after her maternity leave.

This year’s new minimum wage of $13.75 isn’t enough to live comfortably in Kansas City, she said. But every little bit helps her pay for basic needs, such as diapers and baby food.

Kaamilya Hobbs, who lives in Kansas City, Missouri, expects to earn at least an extra 31 cents an hour once she returns to work at Arby’s after her maternity leave. (Courtesy of the Missouri Workers Center)

“It won’t be a big difference. But it will still be for us,” said Hobbs, 33, who is also an organizer of a group that advocates for low-wage workers.

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Inflation has significantly eroded the purchasing power of the stagnant federal minimum wage. Advocates say raising the wage floor helps low-wage workers cover the rising costs of essential necessities and stimulates the economy by putting more money in the pockets of people likely to spend it. But many employers, especially retailers and restaurants, counter that raising the minimum wage would force them to lay off workers or raise prices.

In December, President-elect Donald Trump said he would consider a national minimum wage increase. Trump won 19 of the 20 states — all except New Hampshire — that still have a $7.25 minimum wage. In an NBC News interview, he acknowledged that the $7.25 rate was “a very low number” but said too much of an increase in the minimum wage would reduce employment.

“There is a level at which you can do it,” he said, without specifying a number.

Earlier this month, Alaska’s minimum wage increased by 18 cents thanks to an automatic inflation-based increase.

But the state’s current rate of $11.91 will rise to $13 in July, thanks to the passage of a ballot measure in November. Under the measure, wages will rise to $14 in July 2026 and $15 in July 2027, followed by inflation-adjusted increases starting in 2028.

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The ballot measure drew fierce opposition from business groups but received approval from 58%-42%. The new law also requires employers to have seven paid sick days per year – a major problem, especially in seasonal sectors including tourism.

Before the November election, members of the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association said passing the ballot measure would result in higher prices and lead to layoffs and shorter hours for employees, said Sarah Oates Harlow, president and CEO of the organization. .

The minimum wage increase will mainly affect smaller businesses, she said, and those with tipped workers, such as servers and bartenders. Alaska is one of seven states that do not allow employers to pay tipped workers less than the minimum wage, meaning many of those workers already earn well above the state’s wage floor, she said.

“I guarantee we will see prices rise across the board,” she said. “Groceries will become more expensive. Eating out is becoming more expensive.”

But Mark Robokoff, owner of AK Bark pet store in Anchorage, sees a higher wage floor as good for business. He said the minimum wage increase will put more money in the pockets of his customers.

“It’s not that these costs don’t provide a benefit,” Robokoff said.

To attract the best staff, he says, employee wages start at $17 an hour. But he expects that figure to rise as the state’s minimum wage rises.

“That’s why it had to be a law,” he said. “It only works if we all do it. Then we all get more turnover and pay our employees a little more.”

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