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What I've Been Reading This Week: Election Roundup


A few readers might have heard about an election that happened earlier this week.  I think that got a little bit of press.  For those looking for an in depth analysis of Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, I will refer you to NPR, CBS, NBC, The Washington Post, etc, etc.  In this instance, I wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of the ballot initiatives that were before voters on November 8th.  There were pretty much two big employment and labor law measures on ballots across the country on Tuesday:  Minimum wage and right to work.  Since minimum wage tends to be more of a hot button issue across the country (and got more national attention), I think it is appropriate to lead off with that. 

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Readers might remember an article I posted recently on the recent influx of money into the minimum wage fights leading up to November 8th.  It looks like that money paid off, as Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington all approved minimum wage hikes.  As for South Dakota, voters in that state declined to lower the minimum wage rate for workers under the age of 18.  Interesting to see how many other states follow suit in the coming election cycles and choose to place minimum wage ballot initiatives on the ballots...

Arizona Voters Approve Higher Minimum Wage Rate

As Alexandra Zavis writes over at The Los Angeles Times, Arizona voters approved Proposition 206 by a 59% to 41% margin.  The state's minimum wage rate will rise to $12/hour by 2020 and guarantee paid sick time off from work.

Colorado Voters Approve Higher Minimum Wage Rate

Aldo Svaldi over at The Denver Post notes that Colorado voters approved Amendment 20 by a 55% to 45% margin.  The state's minimum wage rate will rise to $12/hour by 2020.

Maine Voters Approve Higher Minimum Wage Rate

J. Craig Anderson at The Portland Press Herald detailed the fact that on Tuesday, Maine voters approved Question 4 by a 55.5% to 45.5% margin.  The state's minimum wage rate will rise to $12/hour by 2020 and subsequent wage hikes will be tied to the consumer price index of inflation.

Washington Voters Approve Higher Minimum Wage Rate

Over at The Seattle Times, Janet I. Tu writes that Washington voters approved Initiative 1433 by a 60% to 40% margin.  The state's minimum wage rate will rise to $13.50/hour by 2020 and guarantee paid sick time off from work.

South Dakota Voters Decline to Lower Minimum Wage Rate

ABC Kota in Rapid City indicated that South Dakota voters declined to support Referred Law 20 which would have lowered the minimum wage rate from $8.50/hour to $7.50/hour for any worker under the age of 18.


As for the other big employment and labor law topic, right to work was on a couple ballots across the country.  While the more liberal leaning Virginia declined to approve an amendment to the state's constitution to include right to work, Alabama voters chose to include the state's right to work law in the constitution.  I would not necessarily call either vote surprising.  But it is still interesting to note the somewhat close margin in which Virginia voters rejected the measure.  Might not be the last time that measure comes before voters in the state.


Virginia Voters Decline to Write Right to Work Law Into State Constitution

NBC4 in Washington reported that by a 53% to 47% vote, voters in Virginia declined to include Virginia's current right to work law as an amendment to the state's constitution.  This does not mean that Virginia is no longer a right to work state...it simply means that the constitution will not be amended to include this law.

Alabama Voters Approve Right to Work Amendment In State Constitution

Sean Higgins over at The Washington Examiner noted that voters in the state approved Amendment 8 by a 70% to 30% margin, which will amend the state's constitution to include the right to work law.

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