United States: Florida votes in favour of $15 per hour minimum wage

As the US presidential election continues to unfold, the state of Florida has voted to increase the minimum hourly wage, which will reach $15 in 2026. The proposal, dubbed Amendment 2, was approved by 60.81% of voters. The change will see the minimum hourly wage rise to $10 in September next year, before rising by $1 each year until reaching $15 in 2026. The amendment was promoted by the attorney John Morgan, from the Morgan & Morgan law firm in Orlando, close to the Walt Disney World and Universal Studios amusement parks, which are huge employers of low-skilled workers. “The working poor and their families just got a better life,” Morgan wrote in a Tweet. It is hoped that the change can pull 2.5 million households out of poverty. Some employers hostile to the proposal have predicted that the shift will lead to job cuts.