Minimum Wage Ballot Initiative Begins

“For us, it’s a moral issue that no one that’s working full-time should be living in poverty,” said Lizeth Chacon, the co-chair of Colorado Families for a Fair Wage.

Chacon said the substantial early numbers are indicative of strong public interest in the issue. The effort to secure 98,952 signatures has already gathered over 30,000 names.

Dozens of activists gathered outside the Vine Street Pub in Denver on Wednesday, May 18, in support of Colorado Families for a Fair Wage, and other community organizations, who are launching a ballot initiative to raise the Colorado minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020. The rally marked the official start of the signature gathering campaign to get the measure on the statewide ballot in November.

Vine Street Pub owner Kevin Daly was one of several featured speakers supporting the cause.

“The cost of living is extremely high. I don’t know anyone that can live in Boulder or Denver on the minimum wage as it is now.”

Image: Rabbi Bernie Gerson, of the Congregation Rodef Shalom, speaks at the Colorado Families for a Fair Wage rally in Denver ©Tony White

KGNU’s Tony White reporting.

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