Voters in Arkansas and Missouri have approved a ballot initiative that would significantly raise the minimum wage in their states, affecting nearly 1 million workers.
Despite President Donald Trump carrying both Arkansas and Missouri during the 2016 election and disapproval from Republican state legislatures, voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of a minimum wage hike, with 68 percent in favor in Arkansas and 61 percent in favor in Missouri.
In Arkansas, the current $8.50/hour minimum wage will be gradually increased to $11/hour by 2021, while in Missouri, the state’s measly $7.85/hour minimum wage would slowly reach $12/hour by 2023. That amounts to $455 million more in pay for Arkansas workers by 2021 — an average of $1,520 each — and more than $1 billion for Missourians by 2023, a total of roughly $1,485 per worker.
According to Rewire, the people most affected by the ballot initiatives are working women and mothers. Amy Wilson, a single mother of three children, works as a school custodian in Russellville, Arkansas and told the publication that an extra $1,520 in her pocket means a lot. She said she would be able to take care of “a lot of minor needs [that] add up over time,” like replacing car tires or buying clothes for her children somewhere other than Salvation Army.
While President Trump likes to boast that the economy is booming and wages are increasing, not everyone is feeling the effects. There are millions of workers across the country who work full-time, yet can’t afford to make rent every month or cover medical expenses.
Arkansas and Missouri join a growing list of states where wages have been raised in the face of the stagnant $7.25 federal hourly minimum wage.
Because both state legislatures are controlled by Republicans, fair wage activists have found that navigating politicians by raising the minimum wage via ballot initiatives is most effective. The legislature, however, could still react negatively to the results of the ballot initiative.
Such backlash would hardly be unprecedented. In Washington, D.C., the city council recently overruled its constituents by reinstating a tipped wage, and in Missouri, state lawmakers passed a law that prevented cities from raising the minimum wage on a municipal level. The law prevented St. Louis workers from earning a $10/hour minimum wage.
This article was originally published at ThinkProgress on November 7, 2018. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Rebekah Entralgo is a reporter at ThinkProgress. Previously she was a news assistant on the NPR Business Desk. She has also worked for NPR member stations WFSU in Tallahassee and WLRN in Miami.
