Pryor formally endorses minimum wage hike in Arkansas

U.S. Mark Pryor is formally endorsing a proposal to raise the minimum wage in Arkansas.

The initiative needs 62,507 signatures of registered votes by July 7 in order to appear on the ballot in November.

Pryor said Saturday in Little Rock that the proposal is the right thing to do.

It would raise the state's current $6.25 per hour minimum wage to $7.50 per hour on Jan. 1, 2015; to $8 per hour on Jan. 1, 2016, and to $8.50 per hour on Jan. 1, 2017.

Arkansas is one of four states where the minimum wage is lower than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Pryor is a Democrat running for re-election. Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton has announced plans to challenge Pryor.

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