Idaho group hopes to increase minimum wage by initiative

A citizens group is launching an initiative drive to raise Idaho’s $7.25 an hour minimum wage.

The Idaho Press reports while Idaho lawmakers haven’t raised the state’s minimum wage in a decade, 26 other states have increased theirs in the last five years alone. That includes 17 that raised minimum wages by legislation and nine other states by voter initiative.

Idaho is a low-wage state overall, with the average weekly wage in 2018 lower than all but two other states.

The group, Idahoans for a Fair Wage, is organizing a signature drive to get an initiative on the ballot. It would raise Idaho’s minimum wage to $8.75 initially, raising it another dollar a year for the next two years. After four years, the wage would be set at $12 an hour, after which increases would be tied to the consumer price index.