Royal Oak — U.S. Rep. Andy Levin joined petitioners Saturday calling for a ballot initiative that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in Michigan.
Under the proposal, by the Raise the Wage Michigan Ballot Committee, Michigan would increase the $9.87 an hour minimum wage in $1 increments over five years, starting at $11 in January 2023 and increasing to $15 by 2027.
The initiative would require automatic adjustments for inflation every year after 2027.
It would also end the "sub-minimum wage" for tipped workers, for people younger than 20 years old or for people with disabilities. The sub-minimum wage would be phased out in steps until it reached parity with the standard minimum wage Jan. 1, 2028, Levin said.
Levin joined petitioners from One Fair Wage outside the Royal Oak Farmers Market Saturday, saying the fight for $15 an hour has long been advocated by the Service Employees International Union.
"Two-thirds of people who make minimum wages are women and they're disproportionate of color. If we could raise it to $15 an hour, including tipped workers, I think it would be important in this moment of COVID and with this inflation, people need to make more money," Levin told The Detroit News.
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Levin said it's unfair to workers to say raising the minimum wage will lead to higher inflation.
"If you follow the logic of that, then the working people are going to get the short end of the stick,"...
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