Voters Ignore Business Protests in Approving Pro-Worker Measures
- Colorado voters approve state-run family and medical leave
- Florida voters OK boost in minimum wage to $15 an hour
A voter casts a ballot at the Legion Park polling place in Miami, Florida, on Nov. 3.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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Decisions by Florida and Colorado voters to pass labor-friendly ballot initiatives over objections from business groups underscored a national movement toward improving benefits and pay for low-wage workers, even as employers grapple with unprecedented financial pressures in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Florida voters approved a $15 hourly minimum wage (Amendment 2) by a vote of about 61% to 39%, while voters in Colorado passed a new paid family and medical leave program (Proposition 118) by a vote of 57% to 43%.