Advocates for $15 minimum wage rally in Minneapolis, turn in petitions

[Valin]

MPLS (Red) Star Tribune:

Mpls. officials will work to verify the signatures.

Erin Golden

June 30, 2016

 

Advocates pushing Minneapolis to mandate a $15 minimum wage marched into City Hall on Wednesday, waving signs, beating drums and carrying a stack of petitions with the signatures of about 20,000 people.

 

Organizers had been working since late February to gather the 6,869 registered voters’ signatures required to put a charter amendment proposal on the ballot this November. They said they hit that number within a few weeks, but kept up the petition drive.

 

Now, the signatures will be examined by city officials. If they pass the required threshold, they’ll be forwarded to the City Council, which will determine if the proposal is a valid charter amendment and should be put on the ballot.

 

Standing on the steps of the City Hall rotunda, dozens of workers and organizers with the groups 15 Now, Neighborhoods Organizing for Change and Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL) applauded as organizers of the effort said they were confident a $15 minimum wage would be approved — and that they had the legal standing to call for a vote.

 

(Snip)

 

[Valin]

Meanwhile back in The Real World

30% of Businesses Say They Would Eliminate Jobs As A Result of $15 Minimum Wage
37 percent of businesses say they would increase the price of goods
Ali Meye
June 29, 2016

Thirty percent of businesses said they would eliminate jobs if the minimum wage were increased to $15 an hour, according to a survey from Express Employment Professionals.

 

The survey asked 390 businesses in the United States and Canada what effect the increase in the minimum wage would have on their operations.

 

Thirty-seven percent of businesses said they would increase the price of goods, 30 percent of businesses said they would eliminate positions, and 20 percent of businesses said they would increase other wages in the company.

 

A majority of the businesses surveyed, 82 percent, said they do not pay the current minimum wage for some positions while 18 percent of respondents said they do.

 

“A $15 minimum wage has certainly become a political hot topic,” said Bob Funk, CEO of Express Employment Professionals. “There’s no doubt it makes for a good talking point, but the real question is whether it makes good economic sense.”

 

(Snip)

[Valin]