ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The passage of Ballot Measure 1 from the November 2024 election made local business owners share their fear for their businesses.
Ballot Measure 1, which passed with 57.98% approval, will raise the minimum wage in Alaska beginning in 2025. The language in the ballot specifies after yearly raises beginning in 2025 with $13/hour, $14/hour in 2026, and $15/hour in 2027. “The minimum wage [in Alaska] would always be at least $2 above the federal minimum wage.”
In addition to raising minimum wage in the state, the ballot measure will require paid sick leave for employees – 40 hours or more for most employees, and 56 for employers with 15 employees or more. The sick leave granted would also carry into the next year.
Unrelated to wages or benefits, Ballot Measure 1 also prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend a meeting regarding religious of political issues.
In a meeting held at 49th State Brewing in downtown Anchorage, local business owners shared they felt concerned about the impact the ballot measure could have on their profits.
“What profits?” one attendee proclaimed as Chamber of Commerce members spoke in a panel regarding what they expect will come of the change.
During the panel many referenced the struggles small business owners experienced during the pandemic, one panelist noting profit margins still haven’t found their way back to their original states.
Celeste Hodge Growden, President and CEO of the Alaska Black Caucus, said she attended the meeting because she felt confused about what to expect now that the ballot measure has passed.
“I’m a nonprofit that has limited employees. And we just last year hired employees for the first time,” Hodge Growden said. “I’m here, honestly, to secure to get information to bring back to see if we’re still going to be able to maintain employees.”
Hodge Growden voted “yes” on Ballot Measure 1 – she said she supports raising minimum wage for employees (which currently sits at $11.73/hour).
“We’re paying a lot more than the minimum wage,” Hodge Growden said. “But even with this ballot passing, one of the things we weren’t able to provide is the paid leave.”
Other business owners who attended the meeting said the same; they came out to see if they could clear up the uncertainty about how the ballot measure will go into effect.
At time of writing, the language in the information of the ballot measure dictates wage raises will go into effect July 1 of each year until 2027.
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