Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Mich. Gov. Signs Minimum Wage Increase
Hot off the national wire.

LANSING, Mich. - Workers earning the minimum wage in Michigan will get a raise in October under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

The minimum rate will climb from $5.15 an hour to $6.95 an hour, then to $7.15 an hour in July 2007 and to $7.40 an hour in July 2008.

Michigan's current hourly minimum rate matches the federal minimum wage. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia set minimum wages higher than the federal minimum, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Michigan's Republican-dominated Legislature passed the minimum wage increase this month after it became evident that a petition drive to put the issue before voters in November was likely to succeed.

The petition measure, dropped after lawmakers approved the increase, would have put the increase in the state constitution, making it harder to change. It also would have tied future increases to the inflation rate.

Yea for us!