It was an even split on election day for questions on keeping a tipped wage as Portland Maine voters resoundingly rejected a ballot proposal to eliminate the tipped wage and hike the minimum within the city to $18 per hour. Question D, as the initiative was known went down to defeat by a 61-39% margin.…
Read More »As we reach the final weekend before the critical midterm elections, it’s interesting to note who’s becoming active on which issues around the country. Of particular note, two-time presidential candidate former US Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made a last-minute endorsement of the ballot measure to raise the Portland Maine minimum wage…
Read More »As we’ve reported in past issues, liberal employee advocates are often pushing elimination of the tipped wage because ‘tipped workers can’t live on the wages they earn’, even though tipped workers like their current setup. We’ve advised of two major ballot questions on this issue being decided on November 8 in Washington DC and Portland…
Read More »With just over one month remaining until the critical November mid-term elections, there are a number of ballot initiatives going before voters in different locales that warrant watching. Restaurant workers along with the city’s Mayor have again come out strongly against an initiative in Portland Maine. Known as Question D, the initiative would raise the…
Read More »In the wake of public hearings being held last week up in Portland Maine, the Portland City Council voted to approve a ballot measure raising the minimum wage within Maine’s largest city and put it before the voters this November. The initiative would raise the current minimum waged of $13 per hour to $18 an…
Read More »Speaking of Maine, the state’s biggest city, Portland is facing a ballot question in November that could establish a local minimum wage of $18 per hour and at the same time eliminate the tip credit for workers within Portland. The state chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America has filed the requisite paperwork to phase…
Read More »Just days after it took effect, the Portland City Council effectively voted to end the new hazard pay ordinance that pushed minimum wages to $19.50 an hour! By a vote of 8-1 on January 3, the council ended the state of emergency that the city had declared back on March 16, 2020 and in exchange,…
Read More »As if the ongoing labor shortages coupled with these dramatic increases in minimum wages weren’t having a big enough impact on businesses still struggling to recover from the COVID pandemic, some communities are piling on with additional mandates for business beginning tomorrow. A perfect case in point is the city of Portland Maine, where the…
Read More »The Supreme Judicial Court in the state of Maine has unanimously approved a voter-initiated law that requires employers in Portland, the state’s largest city, to pay employees hazard wages equal to time and a half for any work performed during a declared state of emergency within the city. Disputes arose immediately after 62% of Portland…
Read More »As we anticipate another run by progressives in Congress at a federal $15 minimum wage, it’s reported that a group of moderate Senators – led by Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Mitt Romney (R-UT) are working on bipartisan legislation that would increase the federal minimum over the next four years from the current $7.25 to $10…
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