Ballot effort underway to raise Mich. minimum wage  Groups
backing an increase in Michigan's minimum wage laid the
groundwork Monday for a statewide ballot drive in November,
forming a committee that is very likely to commence with
collecting hundreds of thousands of signatures needed to
qualify. AP Wire Jan 28, 2014  "Our politicians in Lansing and
D.C. have failed workers. There are a lot of people who work
hard who've been waiting for a raise," said Frank Houston,
treasurer of the Raise Michigan ballot committee.  Michigan's
$7.40-an-hour minimum wage last went up in 2008 and is slightly
higher than the $7.25 federal hourly minimum. Republicans have
not embraced calls by both President Barack Obama and Michigan
Democrats to raise the minimum wage to $10 at the federal and
state levels. Democrats are planning to make income inequality a
top issue this election year.  "All indications are that we're
highly likely to move forward," said Houston, who also is
chairman of the Oakland County Democratic Party. "We