By Joe McLean, Missouri State Capitol Bureau Chief, Gray Television
KY3 Springfield (MO), July 29, 2024. Also KMOV 4 St. Louis, KCTV 5 (Kansas City), KFVS 12 (Cape Girardeau, MO), WGEM (Quincy, IL)

As the annual cost of living rises, Missourians are on track to vote in November on raising the state’s minimum wage from its current $12.30 an hour. If passed, the measure would increase the hourly minimum to $13.75 starting in January 2025, and then to $15 in January 2026. ... The proposal would also require employers to provide [paid leave]. ...

Some business owners in support of the initiative say this will also help retain employees and improve the work environment.

“I don’t understand how we can expect anybody to want to grow with a company if they don’t feel like they’re actually growing with the company,” said Jason Provo, owner of Blackhole Bakery in Kansas City. ...

“I kind of just feel like if you are taking such a hit to get your employees to this new minimum, and that’s the thing that takes you down. You weren’t a very healthy company to begin with,” Provo said.

The Missouri Budget Project, a non-partisan budget analysis organization, predicts a minimum wage increase would lead to more dollars circulating throughout the state’s economy and ultimately “injecting over $609 million in new wages.”

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