Kent County Clerk and Lieutenant Governor hopeful Lisa Posthumus Lyons says voters should be focused on what she calls a “maximum wage” rather than a minimum wage.
“We want to make sure that Michigan has policies put in place that will ensure Michigan’s hardworking men and women have the opportunity to make as much as they possibly can to help raise their families,” Lyons said.
Initiatives to increase the minimum wage in Michigan to $12 an hour and another to require employers to pay sick time are likely to appear on the November ballot.
Lyons says that there’s another way to solve at least one of these problems, and it’s not just the law.
“It’s not just about ballot initiatives or laws, it’s about making sure that we have an education system that sets people up for success,” she said.
Lyons was announced as Bill Schuette’s running mate last month, and Schuette has proposed adding skilled trades programs in high schools as a solution to the minimum wage debate. This is an initiative Governor Rick Snyder has already begun.
The current minimum wage in Michigan in $9.25.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said the ballot measure would raise the minimum wage to $15/hour, but it raises it only to $12/hour.
