This November, when you vote, your ballot will be very long, with many different federal, state and local elections happening. Your ballot will also have many policy proposals included. Because this ballot will be so involved, I wanted to take a moment to focus on just one of the items you will be asked to consider.
This ballot question, if approved by voters, would raise the state’s minimum wage to $13.75 beginning in January 2025 and to $15 in 2026, with annual cost-of-living increases after that. It would also set the minimum paid sick leave to one hour per 30 hours worked and would extend this paid sick leave to caring for family members.
Many of these proposals have been items the Labor community has worked on for a very long time. I am excited that this November, we will have a chance to place these proposals into law.
This question will appear on the ballot because dedicated Missourians across the state gathered 210,000 signatures. That’s nearly double the amount needed to make the statewide ballot. We do not yet know where on the ballot this question will be listed, but it is important to start learning about it now.
Representative Robert E. Sauls, a Democrat, represents the eastern part of Independence in Jackson County (District 21) in the Missouri House of Representatives. He was elected to his first two-year term in November 2018.
Prior to his legislative duties, Sauls was a Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney and a public defender. He also served as an assistant staff judge advocate in the United States Air Force.
Sauls graduated from William Chrisman High School in 1998. He received a bachelor’s degree in International Business from William Jewell College in 2002 and a juris doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2008.
Born in Independence, Sauls is a fourth generation resident and currently resides there with his son, Jackson.
