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Massachusetts $15 Minimum Wage Initiative (2018)
| Massachusetts $15 Minimum Wage Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Minimum wage | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Massachusetts $15 Minimum Wage Initiative was not on the ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute on November 6, 2018. It was approved by the legislature on June 28, 2018.
On June 28, 2018, Republican Governor Charlie Baker signed a bill that was passed in the Democratic-controlled Massachusetts Legislature as part of a compromise with ballot initiative proponents of three measures: a $15 per hour minimum wage initiative and an initiative to establish a paid sick and family leave program funded by a payroll tax backed by Raise Up Massachusetts, and a Sales Tax Decrease and Tax-Free Weekend initiative backed by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.
Raise Up Massachusetts and the Retailers Association of Massachusetts had agreed not to submit signatures for their proposed initiatives since the bill had been signed. To read more about the compromise, click here.
Measure design
The measure would have increased the minimum wage from $11.00 an hour to $12.00 an hour on January 1, 2019; $13.00 an hour on January 1, 2020; $14.00 an hour on January 1, 2021; and $15.00 on January 1, 2022. Thereafter, the minimum wage would have been adjusted each year in September based on increases in the Consumer Price Index.[1]
The measure would have also increased the minimum wage for tipped employees from $3.75 an hour to $5.05 on January 1, 2019; $6.35 on January 1, 2020; $7.65 on January 1, 2021; and $9.00 on January 1, 2022.[1]
The bill approved by the legislature increases the minimum wage to $15 an hour over five years rather than four and, over the same five years, phases out time-and-a-half pay on holidays and Sundays.[2]
Text of measure
Petition summary
The petition summary is as follows:[3]
| “ | This proposed law would raise the state’s minimum wage, which was $11.00 per hour as of January 1, 2017, to $12.00 in 2019; $13.00 in 2020; $14.00 in 2021; and $15.00 in 2022. The proposed law would also raise the minimum cash wage that must be paid to tipped employees, which was $3.75 per hour as of January 1, 2017, to $5.05 in 2019; $6.35 in 2020; $7.64 in 2021; and $9.00 in 2022.
Beginning in 2023 and each year after that, the proposed law would require the Commissioner of the state Department of Labor Standards to adjust the minimum wage and the minimum cash wage for tipped employees based on the twelve-month percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index published by the United States Department of Labor. The proposed law would deem the state Department of Early Education and Care the employer of family child-care providers for purposes of the minimum wage law. It would require the state Attorney General to determine rates to be paid to family child-care providers by the Department of Early Education and Care that are substantially equivalent to the minimum wage. The proposed law states that, if any of its parts were declared invalid, the other parts would stay in effect.[4] |
” |
Full text
The initiative would amend Massachusetts General Laws. The full text of the measure is as follows:
Initiative Petition for a Law Raising the Minimum Wage Be it enacted by the People, and by their authority: SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 151 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the wage rate specified in the second sentence of the section and inserting in place thereof the following rate:- $12.00 SECTION 2. Said section 1 of said chapter 151 is hereby further amended by striking out the wage rate specified in the second sentence of the section and inserting in place thereof the following rate:- $13.00 SECTION 3. Said section 1 of said chapter 151 is hereby further amended by striking out the wage rate specified in the second sentence of the section and inserting in place thereof the following rate:- $14.00 SECTION 4. Said section 1 of said chapter 151 is hereby further amended by striking out the wage rate specified in the second sentence of the section and inserting in place thereof the following rate:- $15.00 SECTION 5. Section 1 of said chapter 151 is hereby further amended by inserting, before the last sentence thereof, the following sentences:- Beginning in September 2022 and in September of each year thereafter, the commissioner shall adjust the current minimum wage then in effect and the current minimum cash wage then in effect that must be paid tipped employees under section 7 of this chapter based upon the increase, if any, in the cost of living. The increase in the cost of living shall be calculated to reflect the twelve-month percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average, All Items (or a successor index, if any) as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, using the most recent twelve-month period for which data is available at the time that the calculation is made. The commissioner shall round the adjusted wage rates to the nearest five cents and announce them by October 1 of each year, and they shall become effective on January 1 of the following year. SECTION 6. Chapter 151 is hereby further amended by inserting, after section 2B, the following section:- Section 2C. Notwithstanding section 17 of chapter 15D or any general or special law to the contrary, the department of early education and care shall be deemed the employer of family child care providers, as defined by section 17(a) of chapter 15D, and family child care providers shall be deemed employed persons, for purposes of this chapter. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the attorney general of the commonwealth shall determine the minimum rates to be paid by the department of early education and care to family child care providers and promulgate any regulations necessary for purposes of determining the minimum rates in order that the rates are substantially equivalent to the minimum wage provisions set forth in section 1 of this chapter. SECTION 7. Section 7 of said chapter 151 is hereby amended by striking out the cash wage specified in clause (1) of the third paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $5.05 SECTION 8. Said Section 7 of said chapter 151 is hereby further amended by striking out the cash wage specified in clause (1) of the third paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 6.35 SECTION 9. Said Section 7 of said chapter 151 is hereby further amended by striking out the cash wage specified in clause (1) of the third paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $7.65 SECTION 10. Said Section 7 of said chapter 151 is hereby further amended by striking out the cash wage specified in clause (1) of the third paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $9.00 SECTION 11. Sections 1 and 7 shall take effect January 1, 2019. SECTION 12. Sections 2 and 8 shall take effect January 1, 2020. SECTION 13. Sections 3 and 9 shall take effect January 1, 2021. SECTION 14. Sections 4, 5, and 10 shall take effect January 1, 2022. SECTION 15. If any provision of this act or application thereof to any person or circumstance is judged invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared severable. |
Support
Raise Up Massachusetts led the campaign in support of the initiative.[5]
Arguments
- Raise Up Massachusetts said on its website, "Our state’s economy works best for everyone when all working people are able to meet their basic needs. This economic security depends on access to good paying jobs. But today, a full-time worker in Massachusetts earning the current minimum wage of $11 an hour makes only $22,880 a year. A minimum wage earner would have to work 94 hours every week in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Many workers earning the minimum wage work three or more jobs and still can’t afford the cost of groceries, housing, heating and other basic needs."[5]
- Andrew Farnitano with Raise Up Massachusetts said, "No one should be forced to choose between working at the job they need to pay the bills and caring for themselves or the family they love in a time of crisis. Paid family and medical leave would allow Massachusetts workers to take time to take care of their health or the health of a loved one without fear of losing their job or the risk of financial ruin.”[6]
Opposition
Opponents
Organization president Christopher Geehern, said that the 4,000 member employers of Associated Industries of Massachusetts opposed the initiative.[7]
Arguments
Christopher Geehern, president of Associated Industries of Massachusetts said, "AIM opposes efforts to mandate a $15 per hour minimum wage and paid family leave. Both represent simplistic, one-size-fits-all approaches that will irreparably harm the economy without solving the income issues they are meant to address.”[7]
Douglas Bacon, president of Red Paint Hospitality Group which owns several neighborhood bars and restaurants in Boston, said: "We will have to raise our prices dramatically to cover that 150 percent increase," [8]
Campaign finance
| Total campaign contributions: | |
| Support: | $1,966,061.01[9] |
| Opposition: | $0.00 |
Two committees—Raise Up Massachusetts 2018 and the Coalition for Social Justice 2017-18 Ballot Committee—were registered as ballot question committees in support of this initiative. Together, the committees had raised $1.97 million and spent $1.85 million, including in-kind services. The Massachusetts Teachers Association was the top donor to the support campaign, providing 36.5 percent of the total contributions. The top five donors to the support campaign provided 69.6 percent of contributions. Both of these committees were also registered to support a minimum wage initiative and a paid sick leave initiative, and it is impossible to differentiate between contributions and expenditures specific to one of the three measures.[10]
There were no campaign committees registered to oppose the initiative.[10]
Support
The contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of the initiative were current as of June 2018.[10]
- Note: Both of these committees were also registered to support a paid sick leave initiative and an initiative to establish a tax on income above $1 million to fund education and transportation.
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Donors
The following were the top five donors who contributed to the support campaign:[10]
| Donor | Cash | In-kind | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts Teachers Association | $229,750.00 | $487,927.18 | $717,677.18 |
| 1199 SEIU MA PAC | $203,500.00 | $38,281.96 | $241,781.96 |
| SEIU Mass Council | $159,750.00 | $39,145.78 | $198,895.78 |
| Sixteen Thirty Fund | $110,000.00 | $0.00 | $110,000.00 |
| AFT Massachusetts, AFL-CIO Solidarity Fund | $100,000.00 | $0.00 | $100,000.00 |
| Coalition For Social Justice | $15,000.00 | $70,032.74 | $85,032.74 |
Opposition
No committees had registered to oppose this initiative.[10]
Methodology
To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.
Polls
- See also: 2018 ballot measure polls
WBUR released a poll conducted by MassINC Polling Group of 504 registered voters in Massachusetts. The poll results showed 78 percent approval for this minimum wage initiative—with 49 percent strongly supporting it and 29 percent somewhat supporting it. The 19 percent that opposed the initiative was broken down into 9 percent somewhat opposed and 10 percent strongly opposed. Of those polled, 3 percent were undecided or did not answer.[12]
| Massachusetts Minimum Wage Initiative | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Support | Oppose | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| WBUR Poll (conducted by MassINC Polling Group 3/16/2018 - 3/18/2018 | 78% | 19% | 3% | +/-4.4 | 504 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Background
- See also: Minimum wage laws ballot measures
Minimum wage in Massachusetts
As of 2018, the state minimum wage was $11 per hour. No measures designed to increase the state minimum wage have previously been put on the ballot in Massachusetts. In 2014, Raise Up Massachusetts filed a similar initiative that was designed to raise the state's minimum wage from $8 an hour to $10.50 an hour over the course of two years. Proponents gathered enough signatures to get the measure certified to the legislature. However, the General Court subsequently passed its own bill, which raised the state minimum wage from $8 to $11 over the course of three years, with annual increases of $1 in 2015, 2016, and 2017.[13]
Following the 2014 legislative increase in the state minimum wage, Raise Up Massachusetts stopped pursuing the second round of signatures it would have needed to collect in order to get its proposed measure on the 2014 ballot. As of 2018, the state minimum wage remains at $11 per hour, due to the legislature's action in 2014. This was the first increase in the state's minimum wage since 2008, when it was raised from $7.50 an hour to $8 an hour.[14] As of 2018, Massachusett's minimum wage had consistently been higher than the federal minimum wage requirement since 1996, when the state raised it's minimum wage to $4.75 an hour and the federal minimum wage requirement was $4.50 an hour.[15]
Minimum wage in other states
Below is a map showing the minimum wage in all 50 states for 2018 and featuring the minimum wage rate in 2017 and information on any increases occurring in 2018. Higher minimum wages are represented by a darker shade of blue. States that are shaded white either have a minimum wage equal to the federal minimum wage or have a lower state-set minimum wage over which the federal minimum wage takes precedence. As of 2018, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. As of December 27, 2017, three other states, Florida, Michigan, and Missouri had proposed initiatives to increase state minimum wages.[16]
Path to the ballot
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required to place an indirect initiated state statute on the ballot is equal to 3.5 percent of votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. The first 3 percent is collected in order to refer the indirect initiative to the Massachusetts General Court. If members of the General Court pass and the governor signs the initiative, then the initiative becomes law. If the legislature declines to act on an initiative or the governor vetoes it, sponsors of the initiative need to collect additional signatures equal to 0.5 percent of the votes cast for governor.
To make the 2018 ballot, sponsors of an initiative needed to collect the first round of 64,750 signatures between September 20, 2017, and November 22, 2017. If the General Court failed to act on the initiative by May 2, 2018, then an additional 10,792 signatures were required by July 4, 2018.
The Raise Up Massachusetts Coalition campaign, which backed this initiative, reported turning in about 139,055 signatures to the office of the secretary of the commonwealth by the deadline on December 6, 2017. The office of the secretary of the commonwealth confirmed that signature petitions for this initiative were submitted. Prior to submission to state officials, the signatures were submitted to local registrars of voters by a deadline on November 22, 2017, and verified by the local registrars.[17][18]
The Raise Up Massachusetts Coalition was also behind an initiated constitutional amendment to add an additional 4 percent tax on incomes that exceed $1 million to fund education and transportation purposes that was slated to appear before voters in November 2018, but was stricken from the ballot after the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that the petition should never have been certified by the Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healey (D). The Supreme Court found that the initiative violated the state constitution, which prohibits ballot measures from mixing subjects that are not "related or mutually dependent."
On December 21, 2017, the secretary of state said that a sufficient number of signatures had been submitted and certified the measure to move forward in the process. Since the General Court failed to act on the initiative by May 2, 2018, an additional 10,792 signatures would have been required by July 4, 2018.[19] However, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a compromise bill, therefore the proponents did not submit additional signatures for the initiative to place it on the ballot.
"Grand bargain" compromise deal
On June 28, 2018, legislation was passed in the legislature and signed by the governor as part of a compromise with ballot initiative proponents of three measures: a $15 per hour minimum wage initiative and an initiative to establish a paid sick and family leave program funded by a payroll tax, both backed by Raise Up Massachusetts, and a Sales Tax Decrease and Tax-Free Weekend initiative backed by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.
The three initiatives were approved by the legislature since the Democratic-controlled Massachusetts Legislature passed and Republican Governor Charlie Baker signed a compromise bill known as the "grand bargain." The bill, House Bill 4640 (HB 4640), was passed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives on June 20, 2018, in a vote of 126 to 25. It was passed in the Massachusetts State Senate in a vote of 30 to 8, with two vacancies in the chamber. Of the eight no votes in the Senate, six of them came from Democratic senators and two came from Republican senators. Of the seven Republican senators in the Massachusetts Senate, all voted yes except Donald Humason Jr. (R-Second Hampden and Hampshire district) and Ryan Fattman (R-Worcester and Norfolk district).
The bill allows workers to take 12 weeks of paid leave, raises the minimum wage to $15 by 2023, and gradually (over five years) phases out time-and-a-half pay for Sunday work. The bill also requires the state to hold an annual sales tax-free holiday in August, though it did not reduce the state sales tax, as was proposed in the Sales Tax Decrease and Tax-Free Weekend initiative by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. Raise Up Massachusetts and the Retailers Association of Massachusetts had agreed not to submit signatures for their proposed initiatives since the bill had been signed.[2]
Compromise negotiations
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker reported in early May 2018 that he was engaged in talks of compromise with initiative proponents and leaders of the Massachusetts Legislature to reach a "grand bargain" before the measures go to voters in November. Baker said, “I’ve said all along that my hope is that we end up finding a way to work with a number of the folks who have ballot questions pending to come up with what I would describe as sort of a grand bargain. I know there have been conversations going on with both the House and the Senate and with folks in our administration with proponents on a number of these different questions and those conversations have been pretty productive."[20] Proponents of the three measures had been in negotiations with each other, lawmakers, and business leaders to reach a compromise. State officials wanted a compromise to be made in the state legislature because had the three separate measures gone to the voters and been approved, it would have had a profound effect on the Massachusetts economy: raising the minimum wage, establishing a paid family and medical leave program, decreasing the state sales tax, establishing a sales tax free weekend, and keeping time-and-a-half pay for Sunday work. Governor Charlie Baker said, "The product of this is a far better product for the commonwealth than each of these as stand-alone entities would have been for Massachusetts, which is why I'm signing it."[2]
Raise Up Massachusetts had been in negotiations concerning the paid family leave initiative exclusively, negotiating with the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, and the Springfield Regional Chamber under the leadership of Rep. Paul Brodeur (D) and Sen. Jason Lewis (D). In a June 7, 2018, letter to Senate President Harriette Chandler (D) and House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D), Raise Up Massachusetts wrote, "we've reached agreement on most aspects of a paid leave program that we believe could pass the Legislature with the support of both our coalition and the business groups, and we are very close to resolving the remaining provisions."[21]
At the request of legislative leadership and Governor Charlie Baker, Raise Up Massachusetts entered negotiations on the two other measures they were backing: the $15 minimum wage initiative and the Income Tax for Education and Transportation Initiative, (often referred to as the millionaire tax initiative, which was stricken from the ballot), and with the Retailers Association concerning the sales tax decrease initiative.[22][21]
In negotiations between the Retailers Association of Massachusetts and Raise Up Massachusetts, the Retailers Association sought concessions from Raise Up including a sub-minimum wage for teenagers and repealing the law that requires time-and-a-half pay on Sundays. Raise Up wrote that "Policies such as a sub-minimum wage for teens or the elimination of Sunday time-and-a-half pay would hurt some of our most vulnerable workers and their families, and we cannot support or accept them." At that time, Raise Up said they already made some concessions to RAM in the interest of striking a deal, including an offer to increase the minimum wage over five years instead of four.[23]
Raise Up wrote in a press release regarding the court decision that blocked the 4 percent tax on income above $1 million initiative that they remain "strongly committed to winning a $15 minimum wage and paid family and medical leave for all Massachusetts workers this year, in the Legislature or on the ballot.”[24]
A compromise on the measures allowed them to be resolved in the legislature rather than going to voters in November.[23]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Massachusetts Secretary of State, "Initiative 17-17," accessed August 3, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Berkshire Eagle, "Baker signs law raising minimum wage, creating paid leave program," accessed June 29, 2018
- ↑ Massachusetts Attorney General, "Petitions Filed," accessed September 7, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Raise Up Massachusetts, "The fight for $15," accessed January 1, 2018
- ↑ Daily Free Press, "Advocates petition for increased minimum wage, safe patient limits for nurses," accessed May 2, 2018
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Boston.com, "Minimum wage, paid leave questions proposed for 2018 ballot," July 31, 2017
- ↑ SF Chronicle, "Middle ground sought on minimum wage, paid leave proposals," accessed April 18, 2018
- ↑ The committees registered to support this initiative were also registered to support two other 2018 initiatives.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, "Homepage," accessed June 14, 2017
- ↑ A large portion of contributions and expenditures consisted of contributions by the Coalition For Social Justice Education Fund and then reimbursments to the fund.
- ↑ WBUR "WBUR Poll; Survey of 504 Registered Voters in Massachusetts," accessed March 26, 2018
- ↑ MassLive, "Massachusetts Senate votes to raise minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2017," June 12, 2014
- ↑ FRED, "State Minimum Wage Rate for Massachusetts," accessed December 27, 2017
- ↑ United States Department of Labor, "Changes In Basic Minimum Wages in Non-Farm Employment Under State Law: Selected Years 1968 to 2016," accessed December 27, 2017
- ↑ United States Department of Labor, "Minimum Wage," accessed December 27, 2017
- ↑ The Patriot Ledger, "7 question submitted for 2018 state election," December 7, 2017
- ↑ Ballotpedia Staff Writer, "Telephone correspondence with the office of the secretary of the commonwealth," December 8, 2017
- ↑ US News, "6 Initiative Petitions Advance, Could Reach November Ballot," December 21, 2017
- ↑ Boston News, "Gov. Baker hoping for ‘grand bargain’ on ballot initiatives," accessed June 8, 2018
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Raise Up Massachusetts, "June 7, 2018 letter to legislative leadership," accessed June 9, 2018
- ↑ Ballotpedia:Jackie Mitchell, "Phone Conversation with Raise Up Massachusetts Representative," June 8, 2018]
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lowell Sun, "Grand bargain update: Close on paid leave, friction over tax cut, minimum wage," accessed June 8, 2018
- ↑ Raise Up Massachusetts, "RAISE UP MASSACHUSETTS STATEMENT ON SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT’S DECISION TO REMOVE THE FAIR SHARE AMENDMENT FROM THE BALLOT," accessed June 18, 2018
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