Business-backed organizations say two initiatives waiting for approval from the Board of State Canvassers should not be on the November ballot. One would raise the state’s minimum wage. The other would require earned sick time for employees.
The challenges, in part, involve whether the petitions have enough valid signatures to be on the November ballot.
“Our campaign is going to continue to fight and ensure that the nearly 400,000 Michiganders who signed that petition see it on the ballot in November,” said Londell Thomas, a campaign manager for MI Time to Care. That’s the group behind the earned sick time petition. He says the campaign is confident it has enough valid signatures.
The effort to increase the state’s minimum wage also faces a challenge in the Michigan Court of Appeals. A group backed by the Michigan Restaurant Association says the petition violates the state constitution.
“It’s pretty clear cut by the peculiar means by which they drafted this initiative that they’ve violated Michigan’s constitution,” said Justin Winslow, a spokesperson for Michigan Opportunity.
Backers of both campaigns say they are confident they have enough valid signatures to be on the ballot.
“This proposal would significantly raise the minimum wage in this state and provide a lot of other benefits for working folks,” said Mark Brewer with the One Fair Wage campaign. “And you can see from our perspective just how desperate the other side is to block that by the kind of technical legal arguments they’re making.”
