The minimum wage in Alaska will be raised on January. 1st 2024 from $10.85 to $11.73 an hour, as per an act passed as a result of a 2014 citizen’s initiative that The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced.
The law requires regular increases to the minimum wage, to be matched with the inflation rate as measured from the Consumer Price Index in Anchorage.
In comparison to the nation, Alaska’s minimal wage rate is “a tad bit low in the present,” said Joelle Hall President of the Alaska AFL-CIO. It’s likely to remain that for at least the near future. After the wage increase is scheduled to take force at the beginning of 2024 the states of 20 will be able to offer higher minimum wage than Alaska’s in accordance with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Comparing the minimum wage requirements of different states’ wages can be difficult, Hall added, because some states permit employees who tip to receive lower salaries. Alaska doesn’t have an incentive system for tipping as she explained.
While the minimum wage in Alaska is slated to an increase incrementally however, an effort campaign is in the works to increase the minimum wage of the state by a few dollars.
The plan, which is backed by a group known as Better Jobs for Alaska which was founded by a group called Better Jobs for Alaska, would raise the minimum wage up to $13 per hour by 2025, and then increase it to $14 an hour one year later and finally $15 an hour in the next year. Beyond that, increases annually will be tied to inflation, in the same way as currently employed.
The current system has put similar procedures in place, beginning with a rise of $1 an hour for 2015 above the previous minimum which was $7.75 per hour.
Although the current system will eventually raise the minimum wage in Alaska to $15, the new initiative will accomplish this goal much faster according to Hall who is a participant in the campaign.
“We’re pretty much in the same direction however I believe this is going to be a some acceleration,” she said.
The petition was approved on September. 1 by Lieutenant. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who oversees the state Division of Elections, meaning that petition signatures can be collected.
To be included on the ballot for the statewide election the initiative must have received petition signatures of registered voters, totaling 10% of those that voted in the last state-wide election. In addition, the law of Alaska requires the collection of petition signatures from at minimum thirty of Alaska’s forty legislative districts.
Hall stated that the group hopes to gather enough signatures to put this measure on the ballot in November 2024. In order to do this, signatures have to be submitted by January, prior to the 17th of January. 17 date of the start of the 2024 Alaska Legislature session, she added.
The ballot initiative goes over the common wage. It also includes a requirement for paid sick time and will prohibit employers from scolding employees for not participating in religious or political gatherings or other events.
The story first appeared in Alaska Beacon and is republished here with permission.
