Contract negotiations have broken down between the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the union representing the food service workers in the Duval County Public Schools system, and Chartwells K12, the district’s food service provider.

Florida voters on Tuesday approved raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next six years, which advocates say will lift the pay for hundreds of thousands of workers in the state’s service-heavy economy. A supermajority of Florida voters approved the amendment to the Florida Constitution that will raise Florida’s minimum wage from the current $8.56 an hour to $15 an hour by 2026. Although Florida’s current minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, supporters of Amendment 2 said it is impossible to live on that wage given the state’s cost of living. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour will increase the income of a quarter of Florida’s workforce, according to the Florida Policy Institute. Florida joins seven other states that have made plans to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next several years.

Fla. – One of the amendments you will vote on this year is a minimum wage initiative, Amendment 2. Floridians can decide to raise the minimum wage over time. The minimum wage in Florida now is $8.56 an hour. If voters approve the measure by sixty percent, the state minimum wage goes up to $10 in September 2021. The debate over raising the minimum wage in the state has largely pitted employers against workers.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Service industry workers in Destin will protest Amendment 2 on Friday and similar demonstrations were held in Tampa this past weekend. The demonstrations are part of a final push to warn voters that hiking the minimum wage could kill their jobs. Amendment 2 would raise Florida’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026. The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association is warning increasing wages in the middle of a pandemic would devastate small businesses. “You vote yourself in thinking that you’re voting a pay raise, I can promise you there’s a really good chance that you’re voting yourself completely out of a job,” said Dover.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Voting yes on Amendment 2 to boost Florida’s minimum wage will either give 2.5 million workers a pay raise or result in 158,000 jobs disappearing over the next few years. Supporters need to win approval from 60 percent of voters to increase the minimum wage, a proposal spearheaded by prominent Orlando attorney John Morgan. What I mean by that is that Democrats tend to favor increases in the minimum wage at higher rates than Republicans,” Wagner said. Florida TaxWatch and the Florida Chamber of Commerce are among groups that have released studies highly critical of the amendment. Susan MacManus, a University of South Florida' distinguished professor emerita of political analysis, isn’t impressed with the polling numbers.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – New polling numbers from the University of North Florida show considerable support for four of six potential amendments to the Florida constitution on the November ballot, but only three would meet the 60% threshold to pass if the election were held today. According to a UNF Public Opinion Research Lab poll of more than 3,000 likely Florida voters taken last week, Amendment 2 just reaches that 60% threshold. But the lead pollster, Dr. Michael Binder said that constitutional amendments tend to not do as well on election day as they do in polls. RELATED: UNF poll finds Biden with 6-point lead in Florida | Voter’s GuideThe five other constitutional amendments on the ballot:Amendment 1: A slight change to the wording in the state constitution requiring citizenship to vote in Florida. Amendment 4: Requires an amendment to pass in two separate elections to change the state constitution.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Republicans and Democrats are staking their positions a proposed constitutional amendment that would gradually boost the minimum wage to $15 an hour in the state. Democrats argue the amendment would guarantee a livable wage for all Floridians, while Republicans fear it would kill small businesses and eliminate jobs. Florida’s minimum wage is expected to rise 9 cents next year, going from $8.56 an hour to $8.65. Restaurateur John Horne said that even though his workers make more than minimum wage after tips, he’d still have to pay them more per hour. RELATED: Florida $15 minimum wage amendment poised to pass despite oppositionState economists have estimated a $15 minimum wage would increase labor costs on Florida businesses by $540 million a year.

All rights reserved)TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Voters will decide whether or not to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2026 this November. Polls show the proposed constitutional amendment with strong support, but the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association is fighting back. Amendment 2 would spike Florida’s $8.56 minimum wage to $10 on Sept. 30, 2021. Rackleff said the hospitality industry pushed the same message when voters approved a minimum wage hike in 2004. We did reach out to Florida For a Fair Wage, the committee backing Amendment 2, for comment on this story.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida restaurants and other businesses in the hospitality industry continue to suffer due to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 2,000 restaurants have closed their doors, and industry groups fear even more could be at risk if Floridians approve a minimum wage hike in November. In November, voters will weigh in on Amendment 2, which would raise Floridas minimum wage from the current $8.56 an hour to $10 an hour on Sept. 30, 2021. Its a lethal blow to Floridas jobs, Floridas economy, Floridas businesses. Since 1996, voters have approved nine out of ten minimum wage initiatives across the country.