4 states will vote on raising minimum wage, By Jeanne Sahadi, November 1, 2016, CNN Money: “On November 8, voters in four states — Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington — will vote on ballot initiatives calling for a higher minimum wage. None are calling for $15 an hour, the Holy Grail of many minimum wage campaigns these days. But the four initiatives are aiming to raise their state’s base hourly pay by between 43% and 60%. The increases would be phased in gradually over a few years, and recent polls show a slim majority of support for the wage hikes…”
Category: Employment
State Minimum Wage – Iowa
Branstad to explore statewide minimum wage hike, By William Petroski, October 24, 2016, Des Moines Register: “Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he will explore a statewide increase in the minimum wage, replacing minimum wage hikes being approved on a county-by-county basis throughout Iowa. The Republican governor didn’t offer a specific figure for a uniform increase in Iowa’s minimum wage, but he suggested he would consult with experts for help in determining an appropriate figure. The state and federal minimum wage has been set at $7.25 an hour since 2008, and there is no indication Congress will act soon to raise it…”
Job Training and Employment
- Once jobless and uncounted, eager workers could slow Fed rate hike, By Howard Schneider, October 18, 2016, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “The crammed-to-capacity parking lot at a job training center in this St. Louis suburb is exhibit A for why the Federal Reserve remains at odds over the health of the U.S. labor market and how quickly interest rates should rise. Among those in the building on a recent fall day, Joshua Goodson, 23, described his recent work history as a ‘dead end.’ Motivated by the prospect of a firm career foothold, he is now in a program at the Family and Workforce Centers of America that includes both a curriculum in heating and air conditioning installation, and the ‘soft’ social skills needed to keep steady employment…”
- Nonprofit seeks to fill skills gap of low-income high school graduates, By Akilah Johnson, October 21, 2016, Boston Globe: “Eye contact was made with each visitor, who was greeted with a firm handshake. Pleasantries were exchanged, with a smidgeon of small talk. But there was also direction and discipline for those Year Up students whose professional attire was deemed a bit too trendy for the buttoned-down business world. It’s these types of behaviors and approaches that the job-training program seeks to teach thousands of disconnected youth…”