A group wants to initiate a measure to raise North Dakota’s minimum wage.
The current state minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.
The group is proposing a phased increase – to take it to $9.83 an hour in 2019, $12.41 in 2020 and $15 in 2021. After that, there would be annual increases tied to cost of living.
"This is about fairness," said sponsoring committee chairman Scott Nodland. "There are a lot of people working in warehouses, in food service, yard and building maintenance, and they have fallen behind, and having to work two jobs, and they're still not able to cover costs."
The group has submitted the proposed petition to Secretary of State Al Jaeger for review. Once the wording is approved, the group will need 13,452 valid signatures by July 8th to get it on the November ballot.
"We're making a living wage for a living state," Nodland said.
