Proposition A allows 1 in 3 workers in the state who cannot currently earn paid sick days to care for themselves and their families without losing a paycheck. It also helps 338,000 children who live in a household that would get a pay raise.
Last month, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft certified Proposition A for the November 5th ballot. Missourians who vote in November’s election will have the opportunity to approve Missouri workers earning up to 7 paid sick days per year and to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15/hour. About 850 Missourians collected over 210,000 signatures in support of the initiative, including signatures from all 115 Missouri counties. More than 100 workers and supporters affiliated with Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages gathered at the Missouri Secretary of State’s office on May 1st to formally submit signatures for this ballot measure.
Upon passage of Proposition A, Missouri workers will earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours worked. Workers at businesses with fewer than 15 employees can earn up to 5 days per year and workers at businesses with more than 15 employees can earn up to 7 days per year. Employees may take sick leave to care for themselves or family members. Additionally, the initiative will raise the minimum wage to $13.75/hour effective January 1, 2025 and $15 effective January 1, 2026. It will continue to increase annually with the cost of living thereafter.
A full-time minimum wage worker makes just $492 per week. Studies show that letting employees earn sick days and increasing the minimum wage improves productivity, safety and job satisfaction, and reduces employee turnover. Studies also show that paid sick days provide societal benefits of over $600 million annually through reduced costs from the spread of contagious illnesses and reduction in worker compensation claims.
The campaign needed to submit approximately 115,540 signatures from 6 of 8 Congressional districts in order to qualify for the ballot. The Secretary of State’s office certified 158,323 signatures from all across the state, easily qualifying Proposition A for the November ballot. Over 120 Missouri-based organizations have already endorsed the ballot measure.
Missouri Business for a Healthy Economy, which currently consists of over 450 Missouri businesses, is one of the coalition partners. Member Andy Montee, owner of Mokaska Coffee in St. Joseph, said, “I supported the 2018 minimum wage ballot initiative and since then we have doubled our staff, despite the pandemic. Thanks to our wages and culture, we have excellent employee retention, teamwork and customer service. The inclusion of paid sick days on this new ballot initiative is another important step forward. People should stay home from work when they’re sick without fear of losing a paycheck. Passing the ballot initiative will strengthen our economy and help people stay in St. Joseph and raise their families here.”
Many of the individuals who collected signatures, and support this effort, are workers whose lives will be better off when Proposition A passes.
“Together, workers and community allies put better working conditions on the job on this year’s ballot,” said Terrence Wise, a low-wage worker from Kansas City and longtime leader with Missouri Workers Center, Stand Up KC, and the national Fight for $15. “This didn’t happen overnight. Missourians like me have not only had to work two to three jobs at a time to make ends meet: For over a decade, we have also spent time outside of work organizing our strength in numbers for the dignity of all working people when it comes to our ability to make a living and provide for our families.”
“Passage of this ballot measure will allow me to work with dignity,” said Alejandro Gallardo, a worker in Columbia, Missouri. “I work hard, am dedicated to my job, and should be able to earn paid sick days so I don’t have to choose between going to work sick and paying my bills. I’m proud to have collected signatures to put Proposition A on the ballot and look forward to November.”
“Allowing workers to earn paid sick days and increasing the minimum wage is a huge step in the right direction,” said Lora Gulley, Director, Community Mobilization / Advocacy at Generate Health in St Louis. “Developing a pro-family economy is good for the entire state and I’m ready to work hard this fall to ensure Missouri voters understand the opportunity we have to pass Proposition A and enable more families to thrive.”
“Working families are the drivers of the economy,” said Caitlyn Adams, Executive Director of Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action.” “Proposition A is on the ballot because workers are taking it upon ourselves to create change. We’ll continue to do the hard work necessary to pass this ballot measure and improve the lives of our state’s workers.”
The full ballot summary language can be found in italics below:
Do you want to amend Missouri law to:
- increase minimum wage January 1, 2025 to $13.75 per hour, increasing $1.25 per hour each year until 2026, when the minimum wage would be $15.00 per hour;
- adjust minimum wage based on changes in the Consumer Price Index each January beginning in 2027;
- require all employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours worked;
- allow the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to provide oversight and enforcement; and
- exempt governmental entities, political subdivisions, school districts and education institutions?
State governmental entities estimate one-time costs ranging from $0 to $53,000, and ongoing costs ranging from $0 to at least $256,000 per year by 2027. State and local government tax revenue could change by an unknown annual amount depending on business decisions.
For full text see initiative petition filing 2024-038 online at: https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/petitions/2024
Tristin Amezcua-Hogan is the Editor of The Labor Beacon and a member of LIUNA Local 264. Tristin also serves as the Director of Communications for the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO and the Chair of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance.
Tristin grew up as the son of a UA Local 669 member in Tecumseh, KS and the great-nephew of George C. Amis, longtime leader of the United Rubberworkers (now USW Local 307) in Kansas. Growing up in rural Kansas as the child of teen parents, Tristin quickly came to appreciate the life-changing benefit of a union job.
Tristin and his partner, Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan, are residents of the Westside, Kansas City, MO's historic Mexican neighborhood. They are proud members of Kansas City's New Reform Temple.
