Pictured Above: Richie Floyd (right) was a Fight for 15 volunteer and is running for the St. Petersburg City Council in District 8. Sen. Jeff Brandes is introducing a proposal to place limitations on the scope of Florida’s minimum wage increase.
Courtesy of Richie Floyd; Courtesy of The Florida Senate
By Trevor Martindale
Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St Petersburg, is proposing legislation that would give the Legislature the power to exempt certain individuals from Florida’s minimum wage increase.
Florida’s Amendment 2, which called for the minimum wage to be raised to $15 an hour, was passed with 60.8 percent of the vote in November.
The minimum wage will be raised from $8.65 to $10 per hour on Sept. 30, and subsequently raised $1 each year until 2026.
Brandes’ new proposal would “authorize the Legislature to provide a reduced minimum wage rate for prisoners in the state correctional system, for employees convicted of a felony, for employees under 21 years of age and for other hard-to-hire employees.”
This means many college students could be subjected to training wages, should the proposal pass.
Brandes explained the reasoning behind his proposal Saturday on Twitter: “…we have to offer a strong incentive for companies to consider teens without work experience and recently incarcerated felons,” Brandes said.
Brandon Castle, a senior accounting major and Target employee, believes Brandes’ reasoning is based on “a pseudoscience” and that his proposal could bolster underlying socioeconomic issues.
“The whole point behind a minimum wage increase is to decrease income inequality,” Castle said. “This isn’t fixing that – it’s doing the opposite. It’s keeping the same problem in place.”
As a Target employee, Castle is paid $15 an hour. He explained that his wage helps him pay for college expenses and “alleviates stress.”
“I don’t have to work as many hours, so I have more time to focus on studying,” Castle said.
Richie Floyd, a Florida “Fight for 15” volunteer and St Petersburg City Council candidate, believes the proposal subverts the will of Florida voters.
“Amendment 2 passed with over 60 percent support across the state,” Floyd said in an email to The Crow’s Nest. “It was very clear in its language, and this proposal is an attempt to subvert it, and thus, the will of the voters. I am not surprised, as the state government – particularly the GOP – has shown time and time again that they do not give a damn about the desires of the residents of this state.”
Floyd proceeded to say that the proposal “takes advantage of some of the people most in need of a raise” and “makes second class citizens of them.”
“Their labor is worth just as much as anyone else’s and their bills are no cheaper than anyone else’s,” Floyd said. “They should be paid a living wage. There are plenty of ways to incentivize employers to hire people that don’t involve treating people with total disrespect like this proposal does.”
If the proposal is approved by 60 percent of the Florida House of Representatives and Senate, it will be on the ballot in 2022. Then the proposal will have to be approved by at least 60 percent of Florida voters.
