Ballot measures & Election results & Post-election 06 Dec 2006 12:41 pm
Minimum wage measures
Democratic candidates across the country may not have made a raise in the minimum wage the centerpiece of their campaigns this year, but the minimum wage issue appears to be one who time has definitely arrived.
The federal miniumum wage is currently $5.15 per hour. The last time that the federal minimum wage was raised by Congress was in September 1997.
Prior to the November 2006 election, 17 states and the District of Columbia had set the minimum wage above the federal line. Six states had ballot measures this year to raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation. Those states were Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Missouri, Nevada, and Ohio. All six minimum wage measures passed.