As an organization dedicated to securing basic human needs for all Missourians through policy change, Empower Missouri supports living wages for our state’s workers. On November 5th Missourians will have the opportunity to vote on Proposition A, the Minimum Wage and Earned Paid Sick Time Initiative. Proposition A would increase the minimum wage to $15...Read More

This special Weekly Perspective is a collaboration between MO Jobs with Justice Organizing Director Richard Von Glahn and Empower Missouri’s Policy Manager Christine Woody.  During his state of the state, Governor Mike Parson recommended a long overdue 5.5% cost of living adjustment for all state employees as well as a new minimum wage of $15...Read More

In 2018, Missourians resoundingly passed a phased increase to the minimum wage to $12/hour over five years. When the bill passed, it was estimated that 600,000 Missourians would benefit from an increase in their wages, meaning that around 15 percent of Missouri adults were making the minimum wage.  The plan called for wages to rise...Read More

Important minimum wage campaigns conversations are currently happening in both Kansas City and St. Louis. Community leaders have asked Vision for Children at Risk and Empower Missouri to analyze how increases in the minimum wage would impact on families with low incomes, since many need the help of programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP,...Read More

Another welfare myth is making the talk show circuit: Cato Institute says MO welfare mom gets $10.96 per hour in benefits. Malarkey! Find the truth here! A report published by the Washington-based Cato Institute claims that a Missouri mom with two very young kids “earns” $10.96 an hour by being on ‘welfare.’ This claim is...Read More