BOSTON (AP) - The Latest on proposed ballot questions calling for an increase in the minimum wage and paid family and medical leave in Massachusetts. (all times local):
2:25 p.m.
The Raise Up Massachusetts coalition says it will begin gathering signatures for proposed 2018 ballot questions calling for a hike in the minimum wage and a guarantee of paid family and medical leave for workers.
The coalition, made of labor unions, community groups and religious organizations, announced on Monday it would file the initiative petitions with the state attorney general before Wednesday’s deadline.
One proposal calls for gradually raising the minimum wage, now $11 in Massachusetts, to $15 an hour by 2022.
The other would allow workers up to 16 weeks of paid leave to care for a new baby or ailing family member, and up to 26 weeks to recover from a medical condition of their own.
The coalition is also behind another ballot question that would impose a so-called “millionaire tax” on the state’s wealthiest earners.
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12:31 a.m.
Massachusetts voters could decide ballot questions next year that call for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and requiring that workers have access to paid family and medical leave from their employers.
Raise Up Massachusetts plans to announce on Monday it’s launching a signature drive for the two initiative petitions. The same group is behind a third ballot question that would impose a so-called “millionaire tax” on the state’s wealthiest earners.
Groups hoping to place questions before voters in November 2018 must submit their proposals to the state attorney general by Wednesday.
The state’s minimum wage is currently $11 an hour. The proposed ballot question would raise the minimum wage in annual $1 increments starting in 2019 until it reaches $15 an hour in 2022.
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