Business owner talks next steps after Proposition A passage

By Leah Rainwater

Missouri’s Proposition A passed on Tuesday, causing businesses to take a deeper look into how to implement it into their business plan.

The proposition will raise the minimum wage to $13.75 per hour on Jan. 1, 2025. The minimum wage would increase $1.25 an hour in 2026 to $15.

It will also require employers to give one paid hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. 

The proposition passed in Missouri with 57.6% of Missourians voting “yes.” 

One local business owner is pleased by Prop A’s passage. 

“That was one of the ballot issues that we just cared a lot about and felt strongly about,” said Andi Montee, owner of Mokaska Coffee. “So you know, we were happy to support it and happy to see it pass.”

Montee said employees at Mokaska already are getting paid more than minimum wage but is happy to see paid sick leave being a component of job security. 

“We already pay people, you know, what we feel is more than minimum wage. And so we’ve kind of taken that into account, but we’re happy to see the increase and we want to keep increasing wages for our staff,” Montee said. “As far as the paid sick leave, we think that that’s just a really critical component for giving our staff some job security and some peace of mind.”

Montee expressed hope that other businesses would be keen on the measure.

“I think one of the strong issues that we tried to champion was that this increases the amount of money that circulates in our community,” Montee said. “A lot of our customers who come here are younger people and they often have minimum wage jobs. That increases their spending power, their purchase power, and keeps that money circulating in our community.”

This is the second proposition that passed in Missouri to raise the minimum wage and allow for other paid benefits. The state saw a wage increase with Proposition B in 2018, which raised the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $12.