The fight for a higher minimum wage continues in 2024

On July 24, 2009, Congress set the federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour. It has not been increased since then.

Because wages are not indexed to inflation, the purchasing power of minimum wage workers in the United States has often declined from year to year, and a wage that was “livable” in 2009 is not nearly enough to make ends meet in 2024 to come. Earlier this month, Vice President Kamala Harris advocated for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour in an interview with NBC, calling the current rate “poverty wages.”

This November, voters in Alaska, California, Missouri and Massachusetts will decide on ballot measures to impose higher minimum wages in their states. Between 1996 and 2023, there were 28 ballot measures nationwide that proposed raising the minimum wage, and only two were defeated.

In California, Proposition 32 would set the state minimum wage at $18 an hour – making it the highest statewide minimum wage in the United States. In its endorsement of Prop 32, the San Francisco Chronicle The editorial board noted that while $18 an hour was “still below the cost of living in the state's cheapest county,” it would still be a step in the right direction.

“Restaurant workers, delivery workers and home care workers are just a few of the more than 2 million workers who will benefit from Prop 32,” wrote the Yes On Proposition 32 group, which supports the initiative. “People who work full-time should be paid enough to live on, not have to take second and third jobs just to keep a roof over their heads and feed their families.”

Joe Sanberg, a Los Angeles entrepreneur and the committee's chief financial backer, stressed the urgency of an increase in an interview with NBC. “Millions of Californians work more than full time and still cannot afford the basic necessities of life,” he said. “We need to fix this — and by fixing this and raising wages, we create economic prosperity that raises the tide for all Californians.”

In Massachusetts, voters will also consider additional wage protections for tipped workers. Traditionally, these workers rely on tips to supplement the minimum wage, which can result in deductions from their pay. Question 5 would ensure that tipped workers receive the federal minimum wage of $15 per hour – in addition to tips earned – and establish a phased-in wage increase for tipped workers.

One Fair Wage plus Tips MA is leading the initiative, highlighting the declining workforce in the state's restaurant industry. “Thousands of tipped workers in Massachusetts are leaving the restaurant industry, unwilling to return without One Fair Wage, and nearly 250 Massachusetts employers now pay One Fair Wage to hire staff and level the playing field.”

Missouri and Alaska are also voting on initiatives that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The referendum would also establish required paid sick leave for employees, which has previously been at the discretion of individual employers.

Alaska’s Ballot Measure 1 follows a long history of progressive labor laws in the state. After becoming the first state to adopt a minimum wage above federal requirements, Alaska maintained its highest rate in more than 30 years. In addition to raising the minimum wage, the measure would also prohibit employers from forcing workers to attend meetings about religion and politics that have nothing to do with their jobs.