One of the few bright spots for liberals on Election Day was that voters in four states—Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington—approved ballot measures to raise their minimum wages. The ballot wins proved, once again, that, when put directly before voters, progressive economic policies like increasing the minimum wage are wildly popular—even in red states.
The business lobby, however, isn't letting the will of the people get in its way. Chambers of commerce, restaurant organizations, and other opponents of a livable wage have launched lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the Arizona and Washington ballot measures and have embarked on heavy-handed lobbying campaigns in Maine to convince friendly Republicans (and even some Democrats) to undermine the minimum-wage ballot measure. Bolstered by President Donald Trump's anti-worker deregulatory agenda and Republicans' near-monopoly political control of many states, the opponents of minimum-wage hikes are flouting the democratic process to hinder one of the most effective ways to secure pay raises for low-wage workers.
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