Article by STEVE TRAIMAN
With the passage of Amendment 2 by 60.8% of Florida voters on November 3, the state will have the first mandated minimum wage that will rise from the current $8.56 to $15.00 an hour in 2026.
Notably, Florida did not have a state minimum wage until 2004. Currently, that base rate gets a cost of living adjustment every year. It is currently $8.56 an hour, compared to the federal level of $7.25 that has not changed since 2009. But some said it is not enough.
“The $8.56 per hour rate is too low,” said Ben Pollara, senior advisor at Florida for a Fair Wage, which led the campaign for the change. “People who were going to work in a full-time job deserve the dignity of being able to put food on the table for themselves and their family,” he added.
The new official minimum wage is expected to immediately help 1.5 million Floridians. That includes people who work at cash registers, stock shelves and clean up at places like nursing homes, according to Pollara. He said, “Our hope is it’s good for working people and the impact is not felt that much by small business.”
The group is led by John Morgan, a Florida lawyer who put in $6 million of his own money to get the issue on the ballot and approved. He called Florida’s current $8.56 minimum wage a “slave wage” in late September at a forum. He also took issue with the COVID-19 argument. “You can’t just be blaming 9/11 and COVID and the Great Recession for all your woes,” Morgan quipped.
Exclusive Morgan Overview
In an exclusive interview, Morgan told Paradise News, “I got involved because I’ve always believed when you have good luck or good fortune, most things are luck. You have a duty to share your good luck and with all the money I’ve made, there are a lot of things I’m passionate about – food, clothing, housing, medicine among them.
“I saw that a living minimum wage, if passed, would be a rewarding return on my philanthropy to lift 1.3 million fellow Floridians out of poverty. Of all the things I feel strongly about, it would never measure up to this – if I gave away all my money. It was a big risk for if the amendment failed, I would be out over $6 million, but the upside was well worth the risk.
“I feel now that it’s passed that I – and all those folks with Florida for a Fair Wage who worked so hard to get out the vote – have done something really meaningful for all these people. It’s like when you watch someone very thirsty drink some water, that’s how you feel.
“In a way, I’m also hopeful that because of the political divisions in our country that are so high, when you take the labels and party affiliation away, people can work together for a really good cause like a fair and living minimum wage.
“I don’t believe there will be that much of an impact on small business, as they will have time to adapt to the situation. I am more than willing to pay 50 cents more for a hamburger in
return for lifting all those folks out of poverty.”
FRLA & Florida Chamber Response
But others, such as the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA), have expressed concern about negative effects the new policy could have. Florida has lost 336,000 jobs due to COVID-19, according to an economic analysis cited by the industry group. This change could lead to another 158,000 jobs going away.
“Given the devastating impacts COVID-19 has already had on Florida’s economy, we are extremely worried about the job losses and business closures that will accompany this mandate,” said Carol Dover, president & CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, which represents thousands of businesses that will be impacted by the minimum wage hike.
“We are proud of our small business owners and employees from across the state who came together to fight this amendment. We have seen too many places across the country that have implemented this wage hike, only to see workers who were promised more money instead lose their jobs altogether. We are worried about our small businesses and the Floridians who will lose their jobs.”
Added Richard Turner, Senior VP, Legal & Legislative Affairs, who represented FRLA at the November 2019 Minimum Wage Panel, “We feel it’s up to each individual member to meet the new standard minimum wage and we are working on some approaches to the situation.”
In the wake of the passage of Amendment 2 – a $7 million ballot proposal designed to help drive voter turnout, the Florida Chamber of Commerce laid out concerns for Florida’s future.
With the passage of Amendment 2, Florida is now the only state with a constitutionally-mandated minimum wage. The forced cost of living adjustments mean Florida will have the highest minimum wage in the nation long after 2026. Further, studies show this amendment will cause Florida to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs, drive up inflation, and cost Florida more than $700 million in lost revenue, the Chamber predicts.
“Amendment 2 is bad for Florida and even worse for Floridians,” said Mark Wilson, president and CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce, in an official election night press release. “In these difficult times, this costly amendment hurts the very local businesses trying to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For the past year, we have unified Florida’s business community in an effort to educate Floridians about the negative consequences of the governed mandate. Now that the Amendment has passed, it is important to highlight these five major concerns as we work to secure Florida’s future: the cost of living on seniors and families will increase; Florida will lose hundreds of thousands of jobs; there will be a rapid expansion of work related automation; certain businesses will relocate to neighboring states for experienced labor at a more competitive rate and on-the-job training initiatives will decrease; and certain employees will see a reduction in benefits.
“After personal injury trial lawyers spent millions trying to make life more expensive for Floridians and kill opportunities for teens and those in the entry level job market, it is no surprise that Floridians were tricked into believing this amendment will help our state.
“The Florida Chamber of Commerce will continue to work towards securing Florida’s future and aggressively oppose mandates that are wrong for Florida. We have nearly 900,000 children in poverty in Florida and thanks to the special interests behind this constitutional scam, hundreds of thousands of them won’t have opportunities they would have had.”
Local Chambers’ Comments
Doug Izzo, Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber governent affairs director, told Paradise News in mid-December, “I confirmed with the state that Amendment 2 to increase the Minimum Wage does take enabling legislative action. That action will take place this legislative session. The Amendment does not require the first increase until September 2021.
“For implementation on Amendment 2, no legislation has been introduced at this time. Committees start to meet Monday, January 11th, and the new legislative session opens in March. That is all the information I can get from the legislators. More information will become available as committees start to meet and we will keep all our members informed.”
Robin Miller, Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber president and CEO, noted, “The only plans that I have been in discussion with (mainly in hospitality sector) is that they are devastated and now have to plan to CUT STAFF and figure a new way to operate with less staff, more automation and higher costs.
“Some have even said they have to revisit their reinvestment plans (remodeling, etc.) because this added cost year over year is a major blow to their business models.”
Amanda Payne, AMPLIFY Clearwater president & CEO, told Paradise News, “Our board took a position against Amendment 2. While our board supports paying employees a good living wage, we felt strongly that the Florida constitution should not be the vehicle used to accomplish what should be done by legislative action.
“We are deeply concerned about our small businesses that are struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. This could be the final hurdle that will cause many to close their doors. We are also concerned that this will make Florida an outlier to economic investment in the southeast region. I have learned a great deal over the last several months. One being, we have a strong and resilient community. We are here to support our businesses, in any manner we can, as we all continue the path to recovery.”
‘Fight For $15’ Background
When news broke that Florida voters had approved a ballot measure raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Terrence Wise celebrated from a thousand miles away. “If we can get it in the Deep South, you know, down there in Florida, it’s bringing all workers closer to $15 an hour minimum wage on a national level,” says Wise, a McDonald’s worker in Kansas City, Mo., and a leading voice of the Fight for 15 movement.
Eight years after fast-food workers walked off the job in New York City and began calling for a $15 minimum wage, the passage of the Florida ballot initiative came as a big victory. Florida is the first state in the South and the eighth state overall to adopt such a measure.
More than two dozen states and nearly 50 localities have a wage floor that is higher than the federal minimum wage, which has been stagnant at $7.25 since 2009. The East and West Coasts have the highest minimum wages, whereas the lowest are found throughout the South.
Florida will bear some of the fiscal impact as it will need to raise wages for state employees. The Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research (FOEDR) analyzed the impact a minimum wage boost would have on government budgets. It estimates that annual wage costs will increase by $18 million in 2022, and up to $540 million by 2027. With the amendment’s passage, the drastic jump in costs would come from state employers needing to increase the minimum wage more than 75% from today’s $8.56 to $15 by 2026.
In comparison, states like California and New York experienced fewer costs instituting a $15 an hour minimum wage for government workers since they were already paying higher wages to their employees. California and New York both cemented the minimum wage increase in 2016. New York has largely implemented the new wage, with a few counties remaining to adopt it in 2021. California is gradually increasing their minimum wage, with $15 going into effect Jan. 1, 2023.
In The New York Times Sunday, Nov. 29, lead editorial entitled “Let’s Talk About Higher Wages,” a key quote noted: “Preaching the value of higher wages is a necessary first step toward changes in public policy that can begin to shift economic power. It can help to build support for increasing the federal minimum wage – a policy that has already proved popular at the state level, including conservative states like Arkansas, Florida and Missouri where voters in recent years have approved higher minimum wages in referendums.”
[Editor’s Note: Special thanks to John Morgan, Florida for a Fair Wage; Mark Wilson, Florida Chamber of Commerce; Carol Dover, Florida Restaurant & Lodging Assn.; Robin Miller and Doug Izzo, Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce; and Amanda Payne, AMPLIFY Clearwater; CNBC, Tampa Bay Times, The New York Times.]
[Steve Traiman is president of Creative Copy by Steve Traiman, St. Pete Beach, providing business writing services at traimancreativecopy@gmail.com or by phone to 727-363-7531.]