For IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MI workers left once again waiting on minimum wage increase in 2023

LANSING — Workers and advocacy organizations are vowing to appeal today’s Court of Appeals decision delaying increased pay for the more than 600,000 Michigan workers earning minimum wage.
On Feb. 19, the minimum wage in Michigan was supposed to increase to $13.03 an hour, with subminimum tipped wage of $3.75 an hour eliminated and those workers provided with a wage of $11.73 an hour plus tips. The Court of Appeals decision today negates that increase, which the Legislature acted on only as a result of a 2018 ballot initiative intended to help hardworking Michiganders.
“We are extremely disappointed by the Michigan Court of Appeals'’ decision to side with the former Republican-controlled Legislature’s ‘adopt-and-amend’ shenanigans. The decision, once again, delays a much-needed and deserved pay increase for Michigan workers,” said Eboni Taylor, executive director of Mothering Justice. “This is also a devastating blow to Michiganders that deserve paid sick time. The people of Michigan have long waited for earned paid sick time changes to be actualized. Everyone deserves and needs paid time off to take care of themselves or family members, and our economy will see the benefit of a labor ecosystem that honors this. We cannot delay any longer. While today’s court ruling is a setback and another needless delay to a commonsense economic policy, we vow to appeal and seek justice before Michigan’s Supreme Court.”
The state’s current hourly minimum wage is $10.10.
“The Court of Appeals decision is on the wrong side of history. This is another travesty of justice,” said Christopher White, director for Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. “When it comes to grit and determination, Michigan workers are holding strong and know our day of justice will ultimately prevail.”
“We will continue fighting for workers all the way to the Supreme Court,” said Maricela Gutierrez, co-organizing director at One Fair Wage. “This only makes it so that we raise our voices higher, alongside the thousands of low-wage workers who were just undermined by this decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals. It’s insane that workers are earning $3 per hour in Michigan, and that employers get to use workers’ tips to subsidize poverty wages. Low-wage workers won’t stop fighting until this legacy of slavery is demolished and until we all get One Fair Wage.”

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Mothering Justice is a National grassroots policy advocacy organization, based in Michigan, that provides mothers of color in America with the resources and tools to use their power to make equitable changes in policy. They are dedicated to improving the quality of life for families in America by empowering mothers of color to take action on American policy on behalf of themselves and their families.
Founded in 2008, ROC Michigan is the state’s oldest and largest restaurant workers-led organization that works to improve restaurant workers’ lives by building worker power and uniting workers of various backgrounds around shared goals and values.
One Fair Wage works to advance policy, drive industry change, and shift the narrative in order to ensure that all workers in America are paid at least the full minimum wage from their employers. We are organizing service workers, employers, and consumers to advance local, state, and federal policy requiring One Fair Wage — a full, fair minimum wage with tips on top for all workers.