LANSING, MI (MPRN)-- A new petition drive seeks to raise the state minimum wage to $12 an hour. It would also increase wages for workers who rely on tips.
The effort to boost the minimum wage is also paired with another petition drive to require employers to provide workers with paid sick and family leave time.
Danielle Atkinson is one of the organizers. “We have been working on these issues for a really long time, and we have tried a variety of avenues, including lobbying the Legislature, but it’s very clear that we want to talk about and we’re going straight to the ballot,” she says.
The earned sick leave drive failed to get on the 2016 ballot.
The state minimum wage will increase to $9.25 an hour next year.
Both petition drives need to collect more than 250,000 signatures. That would put the questions before the Legislature or on the 2018 ballot.