With less than five weeks until the election, the battle to stop Ballot Amendment 2 heated up, with a new ad pointing to the dangers of a $15 minimum wage being released by “Amendment 2 Hurts You” on Thursday.
The tv ad, titled “Small businesses won’t survive if Amendment 2 passes,” highlights small business owners, managers and employees as they discuss how a minimum wage hike would be detrimental to Florida businesses still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If Amendment 2 were to pass, I’d feel devastated,” said Sandy Creek, a server and bartender at Crabby Bill’s in Pinellas County. “I worry about it now when I go home at night. Just the thought, when I heard about it, it scares me. It scares me that I’m not going to barely to make ends meet. Would I have to go get another part-time job to put food on my table?”
Ballot Amendment 2 is a proposed amendment to the Florida constitution that would mandate Florida businesses pay a minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2026. The initiative was spearheaded by TV trial lawyer John Morgan and will be up for a vote this November.
Morgan says he considers a wage boost a “moral, ethical and religious issue” rather than a political one, while proponents of the referendum argue that raising the pay floor would provide Floridians with a living wage that will lift many out of poverty.
Similar proposals have been adopted in cities across the United States, including Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Nino Wardrip, general manager of Brick’s Smoked Meats in Sarasota, said, “If Amendment 2 were to pass, it would definitely put a lot of jobs in jeopardy here, from the servers to the cooks to the managers.”
In a press release, the campaign said the video will be used in multiple ad spots promoted statewide on digital and social media starting today to educate voters on the detrimental impacts of Ballot Amendment 2.
The new spot comes as legislators and associations across the Sunshine State unite to fight back against the wage increase.
Last week, State Representative Tommy Gregory formed a political committee to oppose and educate voters on the amendment. On Monday, Sen. Joe Gruters, Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, and Florida House Speaker-designate Chris Sprowls announced their opposition to Ballot Amendment 2.
Dozens of other local and statewide elected officials also oppose the amendment that would hurt local economies.
For a full list of elected officials urging voters to vote NO on Ballot Amendment 2, click HERE.
Well . . . it’s just too bad, isn’t it !
If a business, large or small refuses to pay a livable wage to it workers,
then it should close-down and do something else!
Their workers create and earn the business its profits, so reward them for their
good work . . . otherwise, turn the business over to the workers and let
them run it . . . they definitely would do a better job.