Will Michigan Adopt A $12 Minimum Wage For Everyone?
The Michigan One Fair Wage group took a big step in getting the minimum wage for everyone in Michigan bumped up to $12 an hour.
The group turned in more than 370,000 signatures Monday to be certified by the The Board of State Canvassers. If at least 252,000 of the signatures are certified, then the proposal will go in front of the Michigan Legislature to pass or reject. If it does get rejected, the issue is far from dead. It would show up on the put to Michigan voters in November. This is probably the best case scenario for everyone pulling for a raise in the minimum wage.
The current minimum wage is $9.25 an hour, and this plan would raise it to $10 next year and $12 by 2022. The big difference in this proposal is that it would include all workers. That means businesses would not be able to pay tipped workers any less than non-tipped workers.
This has been a sticking point in the past, but the heightened awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace might be playing a factor. One of the points that has been brought up lately is that women working for tips are at a much higher risk of sexual harassment.
If you would like to learn more about the The Michigan One Fair Wage group, you can check out their site here.
Do you think $12 an hour is a fair minimum wage?