An increase in Michigan’s minimum wage and required sick leave is set to take effect in February. This week on MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow sit down with Chris White, Michigan director of the Restaurant Opportunities Center; and Justin Winslow, president and CEO of the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association; to share their positions on the new law.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• How the new minimum wage law will affect employees and businesses
• How 9/11 influenced the Restaurant Opportunities Center
• Concerns the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association has with the rate of increase

Following the recent Michigan Supreme Court ruling connected to the state’s new minimum wage and sick leave laws, the legislation is slated to take effect early next year.

Michigan’s $10.33 minimum wage will climb above $12 by February 2025 — and to $15 an hour by 2029. Additionally, the law will require all Michigan employers to offer up to 72 hours of paid sick leave per year to their employees, and end the tip credit system.

White says the law changes are necessary for progress.

“They don’t make enough money. They are essential workers. The cost of living is going up, so wages should go up with that cost of living,” he said.

However, not all Michigan residents and business owners agree that the changes will be beneficial to the state, and especially for small businesses.

“I think the rate and the speed by which we increase the minimum wage is important to the industry, like it would be any small business operator,” Winslow said. “But for the restaurant industry specifically, the tip credit really means life or death for a lot of folks; service, restaurants, dine-in restaurants.”  

Stakeholders are now urging the Legislature to amend the laws set to take effect in February.

More from WDET:

• How Michigan Supreme Court’s ruling on minimum wage, sick leave will affect workers and businesses
• 2024 bringing boost in state minimum wage to $10.35
• Michigan appeals court ruling reverses minimum wage increase, paid sick leave revision

More from Gongwer:

• Groups push to preserve tipped wage; Singh hopeful for deal

There are a lot of great eats around Detroit. But there’s one food that rises above the rest.  

Detroit is known for its iconic square pizzas. Whether it’s Supino’s, Buddy’s, Pie Sci or Amar, there are many great choices.  

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But one spot in the metro Detroit area got a lot of recognition recently. Loui’s Pizza in Hazel Park was recently named No. 1 on Yelp’s Top 100 Midwest Pizzas.

To discuss what makes Loui’s so great, we’re joined by owner Nyk Sulkiwskyj. 

Sulkiwskyj says his grandfather started Loui’s and has had his hands in shaping Detroit’s pizza history. He immigrated from France to West Virginia, worked as a mason and bricklayer, before getting a call from his grandmother’s uncle who was running Buddy’s Pizza at the time. 

“So my grandma, grandfather just came on over to Michigan and dropped everything to help out. So from there, my grandfather worked up to kitchen manager, lead pizza cook, stuff like that, and eventually moved on from Buddy’s Pizza, started Shield’s Pizzeria, and then from there started Loui’s Pizza.”

Loui’s puts great care into ingredients and how their pizzas are crafted, Sulkiwskyj said. 

“What makes the Loui’s pizza so great is our attention to detail. We don’t skimp around any technical processes,” Sulkiwskyj said. “Everything is done by hand. It’s an art form.”

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Sulkiwskyj.

More headlines from The Metro on Sept. 9, 2024: 

• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has helped Democrats through several legislative accomplishments over the last few years, but she hasn’t been able to get everything done that she said she would while campaigning for office. ProPublica reporter Anna Clark joined the show to discuss what Whitmer’s still got left on her agenda and how likely she is to pass certain policies.
• At the end of last month, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan created the city’s first Entrepreneurship and Economic Opportunity department. We spoke with the Director Justin Owenu about what kinds of plans he has in store to create more job opportunities for city residents. 
• For its third year, If the River Could Sing: A Celebration of Writing and River with InsideOut is happening at Robert C. Valade Park in Detroit on Sept. 12. The evening will culminate with a sunset showcase of music and poetry. The program’s MC and Executive Director of InsideOut Literary Arts Suma Rosen joined The Metro to discuss the event.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Judgmental looks and invasive questions at the grocery store checkout are common experiences for some people in Michigan who receive food assistance benefits. That’s according to a new report from the University of Michigan, which found that the stigma associated with receiving government assistance can lead some individuals to forgo purchasing groceries or seeking help.

“Discrimination and stigma related to the use of food assistance programs was incredibly pervasive,” said Feeding MI Families report lead Kate Bauer. “And one of the primary barriers to people fully using the food assistance that’s available to them.”

Drawing from the experiences of 1,300 people across the state, the study found that many people do not want to be seen using an electronic benefit transfer card (EBT).

“The EBT card that holds food stamps in Michigan, the bridge card, is bright orange and over and over, parents are like, ‘Oh my god, I pull out this bright orange card, and I’m so embarrassed,’” explained Bauer.

Even though recipients can use their EBT card to purchase food from online retailers, Bauer says study participants preferred to go to the grocery store because they have the option to select items they want.

“They would say: ‘I love grocery shopping. I want to do it with my children. I want to go in and see the produce and be able to pick the freshest items,’” said Bauer.

Some participants recounted experiencing discrimination during their interactions with caseworkers at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

“I’ve lost jobs because I’ve needed to take time off to take a child to the hospital for a procedure, and then my caseworker tells me, ‘You didn’t try hard enough.’ It hurts,” stated participant Deanna Riggs in the report.

Despite the presence of Double Up Food Bucks , a state program that offers $2 for every $1 spent on fresh fruits and vegetables, the study reveals many struggle to find stores that accept the benefits.

Bauer says she heard from a mother who would drive around to multiple stores looking for fresh food at an affordable price.

“She doesn’t want to spend the only time she has with her kids, driving store to store, an hour in each direction,” she said. “She wants to be able to go to her local store. She wants to be able to buy local produce.”

Even though food assistance benefits can be used to purchase any type of edible items, the study found that food benefits don’t necessarily increase for individuals with specific dietary needs.

“Specifically, many parents talked about the food allergies, intolerances and dietary needs of their family members,” the Feeding MI Families report stated. “They described how these specific dietary requirements were expensive, rarely accommodated for by the charitable food system and sometimes not covered by food benefits program.”

With food prices and housing costs rising over the past year and pandemic relief benefits ending, the study found that the proportion of Michiganders experiencing food insecurity is now higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Michigan, more than 1.3 million people rely on government benefits to afford groceries.

It’s apple season in Michigan, and farmers across the state are ready for another good harvest.

The Michigan Apple Committee says growers expect to produce about 30.5 million bushels this year. This would be the third straight year that the apple crop has been above average.

Apples are early this year

Diane Smith, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee, says this year’s crop is ahead of schedule.

“I don’t remember us ever really being 10 days early like this,” she said. “I think they’re starting on galas, which is unheard of. We usually start on galas after Labor Day.”

Smith says warmer than normal temperatures in late winter and early spring caused apple trees to bud earlier than usual. But that should not hurt the quality of the fruit.

“We should have some really good sugar content in the apples this year,” she said. “We had some really good warm days, and we’ve had some really cool nights, which lends to that flavor profile that you expect out of Michigan.

Smith says this year’s apples should also be larger than usual due to the early growth.

Apples are big business in Michigan

Michigan has almost 15 million apple trees and more than 700 family-run apple farms, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Smith says the state grows about a dozen kinds of apples commercially.

“We have, of course, the galas and honeycrisp,” she said. “But we also have some newer varieties that people might not know about, like ambrosia and evercrisp.”

Michigan is the second or third largest apple producing state, depending on the year.

“We kind of flip back and forth with New York state,” she said. Washington produces the most apples in the country.

Smith says consumers can buy Michigan apples at about 200 farm markets and cider mills across the state, and more than 12,000 retail groceries nationwide.

The popular deli meat company Boar’s Head is recalling an additional 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat products made at a Virginia plant as an investigation into a deadly outbreak of listeria food poisoning continues, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said Tuesday.

The new recall includes 71 products made between May 10 and July 29 under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names. It follows an earlier recall of more than 200,000 pounds of sliced deli poultry and meat. The new items include meat intended to be sliced at delis as well as some packaged meat and poultry products sold in stores.

They include liverwurst, ham, beef salami, bologna and other products made at the firm’s Jarratt, Virginia, plant.

The recalls are tied to an ongoing outbreak of listeria poisoning that has killed two people and sickened nearly three dozen in 13 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly all of those who fell ill have been hospitalized. Illnesses were reported between late May and mid-July.

The problem was discovered when a liverwurst sample collected by health officials in Maryland tested positive for listeria. Further testing showed that the type of bacteria was the same strain causing illnesses in people.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to immediately and voluntarily expand our recall to include all items produced at the Jarratt facility,” the company said on its website. It has also halted production of ready-to-eat foods at the plant.

The meat was distributed to stores nationwide, as well as to the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama, Agriculture Department officials said.

Consumers who have the recalled products in their homes should not eat them and should discard them or return them to stores for a refund, company officials said. Health officials said refrigerators should be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized to prevent contamination of other foods.

An estimated 1,600 people get listeria food poisoning each year and about 260 die, according to the CDC.

Listeria infections typically cause fever, muscle aches and tiredness and may cause stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Symptoms can occur quickly or to up to 10 weeks after eating contaminated food. The infections are especially dangerous for people older than 65, those with weakened immune systems and during pregnancy.

Story by Jonel Aleccia, Associated Press