Minimum wage, paid sick leave, reproductive rights to appear on Missouri’s Nov. 5 ballot

By TIM ROWDEN
Editor-in-Chief

Jefferson City – Missouri voters will decide whether to raise the state’s minimum wage and guarantee paid sick time when they go to the ballot box Nov. 5.

They will also decide on a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to an abortion in the state, as well as whether to legalize sports betting in Missouri.

The ballot measures are likely to drive voters to the polls, but not in numbers that can be taken for granted as Labor works to pass the worker measurers and elect Labor-friendly candidates to the state House and Senate.

“This election is not going to be handed to us,” said Jake Hummel, president of the Missouri AFL-CIO. “We have to work for turnout. We cannot rely on state ballot measures to turn people out for us. We’ve got to talk to our membership.”

Hummel said Labor would be reaching out to union voters on races from the federal level down to the hotly contested races for the state House and Senate, as well as the Labor-friendly ballot measures.

MINIMUM WAGE/PAID SICK LEAVE
Proposition A, the minimum wage/paid sick leave measure, would raise Missouri’s minimum wage from $12 an hour to $15 an hour by 2026, helping an estimated 137,000 parents working at the current minimum wage and more than 338,000 Missouri children who live in households with a minimum-wage breadwinner.

The measure would also guarantee paid sick time to workers. Under the measure, employers would need to provide one hour of sick time for every 30 hours an employee works at large employers, requiring employers to honor use of up to 40 hours of accumulated paid sick time per year if a company has fewer than 15 employees, or 56 hours per year if there are 15 or more employees.

SUPPORTED BY BUSINESS OWNERS
Business owners affiliated with Missouri Business for a Healthy Economy, a coalition of more than 450 businesses, have come out in support of the measure, saying raising the minimum wage and providing paid sick days are good for business and the economy.

David Burmeister, owner of Midwest Pasta Co. in St. Louis, said, “Raising the minimum wage will increase people’s ability to shop at our business and local businesses across Missouri. We’re already starting employees at $15 at Midwest Pasta Co. because we’ve seen that paying better wages is better business. Employees are happier at work and do a better job. We also provide paid sick leave because we value our staff and, as a food industry business, we know it isn’t safe for sick employees to come to work. The ballot initiative will strengthen Missouri’s workforce and businesses.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Mike Schroeder, co-owner of Oddly Correct Coffee in Kansas City.

“We know from experience that a business model built on fair pay and paid sick leave is a better business model,” Schroeder said.

“ Years ago, we decided to invest in employees with guaranteed living wages and benefits like paid sick leave, and we’ve seen the positive impact on our bottom line. Not only did it lead to employees being more invested in their work, but it created an environment for higher quality of service and a better experience for our customers, which led to a 20 percent increase in retail revenue. During the pandemic, when others had difficulty staffing, and there were claims ‘no one wanted to work,’ we had new applications every day because people wanted to work somewhere that could actually support them.”

‘PEOPLE CAN’T GET BY’
“People can’t get by on the current minimum wage,” said Leigh Lockhart, owner of Main Squeeze smoothie shop and market in Columbia. “We need a wage floor that allows working people to make ends meet so they can support themselves and their families. Employees are also customers who can help the economy thrive when they have more money to spend.”