By Kieran Nicholson
Denver Post, Sept 29, 2016

Spirited arguments for and against raising Colorado’s minimum wage, as proposed in Amendment 70, were aired Thursday night at a Denver Post partnered forum.

The first “Tap the Vote” forum pitted Debra Brown, a manager for Colorado Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, who backs passage, against Tyler Sandberg, with the opposition group Keep Colorado Working. ...

Brown, on the other hand, said the increase, if passed by voters, would stimulate the state economy.

“We know it is good for business. We know it is good for the...

Op-Ed By Laurie Raymond
Glenwood Springs (CO) Post Independent, Sept 27, 2016

As a small-business owner here in Glenwood, I understand that some of my peers are worried about the minimum wage proposal, especially with all the misinformation out there. But the more I look into it, the more certain I am: The plan to gradually increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020 is a modest, smart and fair solution that will help both hard-working families and local small businesses in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Some corporate lobbying groups are acting like...

By Patricia Cohen
New York Times, Sept 25, 2016

Not that long ago, Alex Caicedo was stuck working a series of odd jobs and watching his 1984 Chevy Nova cough its last breaths. ... Today, Mr. Caicedo is an assistant manager at a pizzeria in Gaithersburg, Md., with an annual salary of $40,000 and health benefits. And he is getting ready to move his wife and children out of his mother-in-law’s house and into their own place. ...

The Caicedos are among the 3.5 million Americans who were able to raise their chins above the poverty line...

The Aaron Harber Show, Colorado, September 24, 2016

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this 2 part series Tyler Sandberg & Tony Gagliardi discuss the reasons they are NOT for the passing of Amendment 70 with Judy Amabile & Debra Brown who are very excited about FOR the passing of this state wide ballot issue. How are you going to vote this November on the issue? It's Your Decision 2016.

Amendment 70: State Minimum Wage: Part 1 and 2

http://harbertv.com/Election

https://vimeo.com/183613859

https://vimeo.com/183589255

By Lisa Jennings
Nation's Restaurant News, Sept 20, 2016

The minimum wage, immigration reform and a call for unity are key issues for those in the restaurant industry who support Hillary Clinton’s bid for the presidency. Although the restaurant industry generally leans Republican, Clinton has won backing from many who contend she is the better choice for business owners concerned about driving a healthy economy. ...

Minimum wage

Throughout the campaign, Clinton has expressed support for a $12-per-hour federal minimum wage, as well as higher wages in certain locales, like New York City and California. The...

He urges all to vote yes on Amendment 70

By Andra Zeppelin
Eater Denver, Sept 20, 2016

Edwin Zoe, founder of Zoe Ma Ma, a casual modern Chinese restaurant with an original location in Boulder and a second one in Denver, is urging everyone to help increase the minimum wage by voting yes on Amendment 70. The proposed measure, which is on the ballot this fall, would increase Colorado minimum wage from the current $8.31/hour to $12 by 2020.

Here's his plea, which he posted on Facebook:

Hello Everyone,
I am asking for your support on...

Colorado Public Radio, Sept 19, 2016

Ryan Warner: This is Colorado Matters from CPR News. I’m Ryan Warner. The minimum wage in Colorado would grow to $12 an hour in voters pass Amendment 70 this election. It is currently $8.31. Today a debate, the first of several you’ll hear of measures on the statewide ballot. Debra Brown is business manager for Colorado Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, which is in favor of raising the minimum wage, and Sonia Riggs is against the measure. She’s president of the Colorado Restaurant Association. ...

[Debra Brown]: There’s no question...

By Marianne LeVine and Cogan Schneir
Politico, Morning Shift, Sept 16, 2016

... BUSINESSES JOIN PUSH FOR MINIMUM WAGE HIKE: A group of manufacturers and retailers in the “natural products” industry are campaigning to increase the federal hourly minimum wage to $12 by 2020, up from the current $7.25. The Fair Pay Today Campaign — which includes soap brand Dr. Bronner’s, Organic India USA,and Seventh Generation, among others — will target consumers directly through product labels, in-store displays and social media. “Companies in the Fair Pay Today Campaign are creating the good jobs of the future...

By Aldo Svaldi
Denver Post, September 14, 2016

U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez on Wednesday threw the Obama administration’s full support behind Colorado’s Amendment 70, which seeks to raise the state’s minimum wage from $8.31 an hour to $12 an hour by 2020.

“This is one where the nation is watching,” Perez told a round table of workers, business owners and nonprofit and union leaders gathered at Teatulia Tea Bar in Denver. “The President is with you. I am with you.”

Colorado, Arizona, Washington and Maine all have ballot measures to lift the state minimum wage. Perez expressed confidence they...

By Peter Stresinco
The Pueblo Chieftain, September 14, 2016

To raise the minimum wage in Colorado is not a job killer but a means for people to get off government services and is a question of human dignity, according to advocates promoting Amendment 70, a mandatory minimum wage increase that would reach $12 an hour by 2020 if voters agree in November. ...

Mike Hartkop, co-founder and owner of Solar Roast Coffee here, said that by offering higher than the minimum wage to his employees, $10 an hour, has greatly reduced his turnover and has...

Ed Sealover
Denver Business Journal, Sept 14, 2016

For Colorado restaurant leaders, who are the primary funders of the campaign to defeat the minimum-wage hike on November’s ballot, a major sticking point in the proposed constitutional amendment is its provision raising the credit for tipped workers at the same monetary levels as it raises the ground-floor wage for statewide workers.

Though Colorado’s minimum wage is now $8.31 an hour, employees who receive tips as part of their jobs can get a lower base salary of $5.29 per hour with the expectation that the gratuities they...

By Eric Fink
KRDO News 13, Sept 13, 2016

COLORADO SPRINGS - Tracy du Charme owns Color Me Mine in the Chapel Hills Mall. She hopes voters will back Amendment 70, a measure this November that would vault Colorado's minimum wage by more than 40 percent.

"The one thing that's going to help a local shop like mine is a strong local economy and people earning minimum wage are going to spend that money locally," du Charme said.

Currently, Colorado's minimum wage is $8.31. If Amendment 70 passes, it would go up to $12 by 2020. ...

Read more

By Scott Kraus
The Morning Call, Sept 7, 2016

ALLENTOWN — Political debates over the minimum wage are nothing new. Gov. Tom Wolf has pushed recently for an increase, tweaking resistant Republican state lawmakers ... What is unusual is to have business leaders arguing publicly to hike the minimum wage, as the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce's Michelle Griffin Young did Tuesday before a meeting of the House Democratic Policy Committee in Allentown. ...

"Our membership agrees $7.25 is not a livable minimum wage," said Griffin Young, the Chamber's executive vice president for government and external affairs. "They...

By Lydia DePillis
Houston Chronicle, Sept 3, 2016

... This tale of two businesses captures the state of the U.S. labor market, where after a long period of stagnation, wages overall are beginning to rise, but the benefits of an improving economy continue to be distributed unevenly. ... Overall, the U.S. labor market has improved significantly over the past five years, as employers added more than 12 million jobs and the unemployment rate plunged from 9 percent to less than 5 percent. But as with much of the recovery that followed the worst recession in 70 years, the...

Op-Ed By Jerome Dodson, President, Parnassus
We’ve found that firms with ethical business practices, coupled with good products or services, quality management and sustainable competitive advantages offer the most attractive opportunities for investment. Companies that do right by their employees and their communities fare better.