minimum wage

With the new year just a couple of weeks away, farmers, ranchers and other owner/operators are preparing for many changes.   Washington Growers League President Mike Gempler said, “There’s more pesticide safety regulations, higher wages, and then I think there’s going to be a lot of uncertainty in the area of immigration policy from the federal level with the new incoming Trump administration.”  

Washington voters will decide whether or not to raise the minimum wage and add paid sick leave to the state’s laws through Initiative 1433.   Ag Policy Research Director for the Washington Policy Center Madi Clark said this could be bad news for smaller and medium farms.   “...

Washington State’s minimum wage will increase to $9.53 on January 1st, a bump of six cents.   The jump was announced by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries who calculates the state’s minimum wage each September based on changes to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.   The inc...

How would a higher minimum wage impact the Washington agriculture economy?  Voters will be asked this November is the statewide minimum wage should be increased to $15 an hour, and it’s not just fastfood operations that would be impacted.  Frank Ly...

A recent study by The Century Foundation says that an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour would end hunger for thousands of Washingtonians.   According to TCF fellow and economist William Rodgers III, increasing the minimum wage would reduce food insecurity by 6.5 pe...

Washington State voters will have the option of enacting a new minimum wage law through Initiative 1433 this November.   Washington State Farm Bureau Director of Government Relations Tom Davis said the law could have an inordinate impact on younger workers, push farmers to mechanization and also has a trickle-down effect.  ...

Starting Friday, minimum wage across Oregon increases, but by different amounts depending upon where you live.  The six year plan raises minimum wage to $12.50 an hour in rural counties, $13.50 in non-rural areas and $14.75 in the Portland metro area.  Je...

Initiative 1433 is currently collecting signatures to put an increase in the state’s minimum wage on the November ballot.   Under the measure, the state’s minimum wage would increase to $11 per hour on January 1st, 2017 and then 50 cents per year until it hits $13.50 per hour in 2...