2022 Petition Initiatives-Part Seven of a Series

By Gordon HopkinsThe minimum wage in Nebraska is currently $9 an hour, and has been since 2016. The minimum wage was $8 an hour in 2015. For those workers who are compensated by tips, such as waitresses, waiters and bus persons, the minimum hourly rate of pay is $2.13 per hour. The sum of the $2.13 per hour plus all tips given to the individual must equal or exceed the required minimum wage for all hours worked.Each state sets its own minimum wage. However, that wage must meet or exceed the federal minimum wage. The national minimum wage was created by Congress under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938. The first minimum wage, established during the Great Depression, was 25 cents an hour. Currently, the federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour.For the past few years, there has been a movement across the country to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour. In Nebraska, there is a petition circulating to increase the state’s minimum wage.Nebraska is one of 24 states that allow citizens to initiate legislation through the petition process.The proposal, called the Nebraska Minimum Wage Increase Initiative, would eventually increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, but not immediately. Instead, the increase would occur incrementally according to a set schedule:$10.50 on January 1, 2023;$12.00 on January 1, 2024;$13.50 on January 1, 2025;$15.00 on January 1, 2026.After that, the increase would be adjusted annually thereafter to account for increases in the cost of living.SupportersThe sponsors of this initiative are Nancy Williams of Omaha, Zeke Rouse of Lincoln and Senator Terrell McKinney (District 11) of Omaha. McKinney issued a statement in August of 2021 when the initiative was announced, “Poverty is at the root of many of the issues we are trying to tackle in our state; one way to begin decreasing poverty is to raise the minimum wage and change the cycle of surviving the good life to living the good life.”Nebraska Appleseed, a non-profit public interest law firm, also supports the initiative. Ken Smith, the Economic Justice Director at Nebraska Appleseed, said, “Workers in low-wage jobs and their families benefit the most from these income increases, reducing poverty and income inequality. Nebraskans should not have to choose between paying their rent and buying groceries. We all want to be able to provide for our families and raising the minimum wage is an important step toward making that a reality for many underpaid Nebraskans.”2014This is not the first such initiative. The Nebraska Minimum Wage Increase, Initiative 425, which proposed to raise the minimum wage to $8 in 2015 and $ in 2016, was on the ballot in 2014. Then Governor Dave Heineman came out against the initiative on August 25, 2014. Heineman said, “I believe the key is increased training opportunities to help employees increase their skills, resulting in better job opportunities and higher pay, and to recruit higher paying industries to the state.”Pete Ricketts, who was then a candidate for Governor, also opposed Initiative 425. Ricketts said, “many of the Nebraskans receiving the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour are high schoolers who need the entry-level positions to gain work experience and training. This opportunity would be eliminated if employers can’t afford to pay the higher wages.”Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom, a taxpayer advocacy group founded by Doug Kagan in 1978, argued at the time, “Retailers will reduce staff and replace humans with machines, reduce fringe benefits like health insurance, and restrict personal and sick leave options. To cut costs, employers will allow fewer breaks and amenities like free coffee and snacks. Employees in the hotel, motel, and fast food industries will suffer reduced work hours and job elimination, the very people who have no skills to obtain other employment.”Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom also claimed the increase in wages would force businesses to move toward more mechanization, “A raise will curtail the number of entry level jobs created. Machines are more consistent, sanitary, and can make 360 hamburgers per hour. Machines take no sick days, require no health care, do not come to work loaded on drugs, and happily work 24 hours 7 days per week.”The group also stated, “Liberals ignore that some they supposedly champion lack the will and initiative to access higher-paying jobs. Likewise, liberals who claim that a higher minimum wage would impel people to abandon welfare ignore that some welfare recipients enjoy that lifestyle and would never leave it.”Despite opposition, the initiative passed.2022As in 2014, Governor Ricketts has publicly opposed the initiative. A spokesperson for the Governor issued a statement in 2021, “The Governor is especially concerned about how this could impact jobs in small towns and underserved communities.”Bryan Slone, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, said, “The NE Chamber has opposed creating a patchwork quilt of state minimum wage rules in the 50 states, and supports a uniform federal standard.”The COVID-19 pandemic has led to, or contributed to, major staffing shortages throughout the U.S. Nebraska continues to see record unemployment. In October 2021, the unemployment rate was 1.9 percent and in November it was 1.8, the lowest in the country.While a low unemployment rate is generally regarded as good news and a sign of a healthy economy, there is a downside: employers struggling to find workers to fill open positions. This is true not just in Nebraska but across the country, even in states with much higher unemployment rates.Slone noted that the worker shortage has already forced many employers to increase wages and suggested raising the minimum wage may become a moot point, “It is not clear whether this effort would have much of a practical impact.”

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