By Iris Samuels
Anchorage Daily News, November 3, 2024. Also Yahoo News, Kansas City Star, Miami Herald, Fort Worth Star Telegram, Wichita Eagle, Sacramento Bee, Raleigh News and Observer, many more
A ballot measure before Alaska voters seeks to increase the state’s minimum wage, provide guaranteed sick leave to most workers and ban employers from engaging in some activities that can dissuade unionizing ...
The measure is backed by a broad coalition of Alaska labor leaders, chaired by Ed Flanagan, former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Labor under Gov. Tony Knowles. It is also backed by leaders of the Alaska AFL-CIO, the state’s largest labor organization, and by a coalition of more than 100 small businesses in the state.
Supporters of the measure say it will improve the well-being of Alaska workers and of the economy, by increasing productivity and reducing worker turnover. The wage increase would affect thousands of low-wage workers in Alaska. A $15 wage is still considered below a living wage for all Alaska adults, according to research from MIT. ...