By Rudi Keller
Missouri Independent, January 6, 2025. Also Yahoo News, St. Louis Business Journal, Maryville Forum, Phelps County Focus (Rolla) Griffon News (St. Joseph), more
... Proposition A, placed on the ballot via initiative petition, passed in November with 58% of the vote with support from unions, workers’ advocacy groups, social justice and civil rights organizations, and a coalition of more than 500 business owners.
There was no large-scale opposition campaign prior to the election. But a court challenge filed in early December by major business advocacy groups asks the Missouri Supreme Court to invalidate the vote. And legislation filed in advance of this year’s session seeks to exempt 96% of private employers from the higher minimum wage.
Randy Vines, co-owner of a St. Louis business that also began as a home-based operation and a backer of Proposition A, said he’s sympathetic to Overstreet’s dilemma but argues that more money in the hands of workers helps the economy.
Other costs can squeeze profits as well, said Vines, who founded STL-Style, which makes merchandise themed to St. Louis for retail and wholesale markets, with his brother. If the price of T-shirts goes up, for example, that has to be part of his pricing, he said. ...
Attempting to rollback the increase is short-sighted, Vines said. His business pays above minimum wage and has low job turnover even though most workers are part-time employees.
“If you’re at the point where you either have to pay everyone minimum wage and survive barely, or go under paying a little more than minimum wage, your business probably isn’t on stable footing anyway,” he said. ...