Kansas City voters approve minimum wage hike

FILE: Kansas City Skyline. (Photo: Tim Samoff/Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City voters have agreed to raise the local minimum wage, ignoring a law Missouri legislators enacted earlier this year that bars cities from setting their own rates.

Under the proposal approved Tuesday, Kansas City’s minimum wage would increase from $7.70 to $10 on Aug. 24. But it may only be in place for a few days because the new state rules take effect on Aug. 28.

Though largely symbolic because of the state law, the Kansas City vote calls for annual rate hikes starting Sept. 1, 2019. It would eventually reach $15 per hour in 2022.

Advocacy groups also launched a petition drive Tuesday seeking to let Missouri voters decide next year whether to raise the state’s minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2023.