Voters Ignore Business Protests in Approving Pro-Worker Measures

Decisions by Florida and Colorado voters to pass labor-friendly ballot initiatives over objections from business groups underscored a national movement toward improving benefits and pay for low-wage workers, even as employers grapple with unprecedented financial pressures in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Florida voters approved a $15 hourly minimum wage (Amendment 2) by a vote of about 61% to 39%,while voters in Colorado passed a new paid family and medical leave program (Proposition 118) by a vote of 57% to 43%.

The success of the measures — particularly in Florida, on a night Republicans won the ...