Hales, Wheeler Voice Support for Minimum Wage Increase

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Brendan Murray, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Charlie Hales

Calls to increase Oregon’s minimum wage by Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek (D) received praise and support from the City of Portland’s Mayoral candidates, State Treasurer Ted Wheeler (D) and incumbent Mayor Charlie Hales (D).

Both candidates voiced their support for raising the minimum wage, both in the City of Portland and across Oregon. Hales’ Office declined to give a specific figure for the State’s minimum wage while Ted Wheeler called for a minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Last week, Kotek cited figures from the North Star Civic Foundation, a group of Portland business leaders, to explain why she believes the State should raise its minimum wage to $13.50. Other groups have gone further than Kotek, asking for Oregon’s wage floor to be raised to $15 an hour.

Oregon would not be the first state to pass such a measure. Portland’s west coast neighbors Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles have all passed laws that will raise their minimum wage to $15 before 2020. Washington DC has done the same, and New York City passed a law this summer that raised the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15.

Oregon currently has the second-highest minimum wage of any state at $9.25 an hour. Washington, the state with the highest minimum wage, guarantees workers $9.47 an hour.

Hales Wants $15

Sara Hottman, a spokeswoman for the Mayor’s Office, told GoLocal that Hales supports a minimum wage of $15 for the City of Portland.

“The Mayor has said he supports a higher minimum wage, and that is why he raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour for city employees,” Hottman said. “He believes that is what is right not just for public employees, but for workers across the city.”

Hales used minimum wage as a centerpiece of his State of the City speech earlier this year.

“Another passion of mine: Living wages for city workers,” Hales said in the speech. “It’s a passion for a lot of us, including Dan Saltzman: This year we’ll be proposing my budget that all full-time permanent employees and contractors of the city of Portland make $15 per hour. It’s the right thing to do.”

Hottman did clarify, however that while Hales also supports an increase to the State’s minimum wage, he does not have a clear wage in mind.

“He has not identified a state-wide figure for the minimum wage,” Hottman said. “He has offered his approval for an incremental rise in the State’s minimum wage, which would bring it to $12, then $13, then $14 and $15.”

Ted Wheeler

Wheeler Wants More

Wheeler, like his opponent Hales, told GoLocal he believes the minimum wage in the city should be raised. He cited the increasing cost of living and the rate of inflation in calling for the increase.

“The minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation or productivity,” Wheeler said. “It should be increased. While there will be an important debate over the right number, more important will be if local cities like Portland can set our own, higher minimum wage.”

However, in a departure from most groups calling for an increase to wages, Wheeler did not stop at $15 an hour, saying he would like to see wages in Portland climb even higher.

“Let’s not fool ourselves, even $15 an hour is not enough to sustain a family or rent a decent home in Portland,” Wheeler said. “We need to do much more to connect people to the skills and education they need to get jobs that pay $25 or $35 an hour, jobs which are going unfilled today.”

Related Slideshow: The Top Ten Cities Where Your Paycheck Stretches Farthest

Want more bang for your buck? Here are the top 10 cities where you can get the most out of your paycheck.

Prev Next

10. Cincinnati

Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN: The Midwest fairs well on the list of how well workers can stretch their paychecks, thanks to a lower cost of living. Cincinnati jumped from $54,683 to $59,828. (Photo credit: Wing)

Prev Next

9. Seattle

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.: Even before being adjusted for cost of living Seattle ranked in the top 10 for best wages. The rank went down slightly though, from $67,225 to $60,237 when adjusted for housing costs.

(Photo Credit: Anupam_ts via Compfight cc)

Prev Next

8. Atlanta

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA: When it comes to the highest effect pay in cities across the country, Atlanta ranks in the top ten. Salaries jump from $58,836 to $60,844 when adjusted for cost of living.

(Photo Credit: Nrbelex via Compfight cc)

Prev Next

7. Charlotte

Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC: The rank for the home of the Bobcats raised significantly from 20th to seventh when adjusted for cost of living. The salary went up from $57,506 to $61,636.

(Photo Credit: James Willamor via Compfight cc)

Prev Next

6. Memphis

Memphis, Tenn.: This southern city came in sixth with an average annual salary going up from $53,069 to $61,780. (

(Photo Credit: Exothermic via Compfight cc )

Prev Next

5. Austin

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas: Workers in Austin will be pleased to find their paychecks stretching farther than most with a jump from 58,103 to $62,679. (Photo credit) (Photo credit: LoneStarMike)

Prev Next

4. Dallas

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas: Cities in Texas faired well when it comes to how far your money goes. When adjusted for cost of living, the average annual salary jumped from $60,478 to $62,867.

(Photo Credit: zizzybaloobah via Compfight cc)

Prev Next

3. Detroit

Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.: Detroit might be a surprising one to top the list but the annual salary jumped up from $60,503 to $64,571 when housing prices were considered. Kotkin says the high wages paid by the uptick in the auto industry and the low cost of living bumped this otherwise struggling city to the top. “This longtime sad sack region has reason to feel hopeful,” he says.

(Photo Credit: paul bica via Compfight cc)

Prev Next

2. San Jose

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.: Silicon Valley kept it in the top 10 despite having the least affordable housing on the list. When the pricy housing costs were added in, the average salary plummeted from $107,515 to $71,534. (Photo credit: EugeneZelenko, CC)

Prev Next

1. Houston

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas: Houston ranked number one after its annual average salary actually went up when adjusting for cost of living, from $67,279 to $75,256.

( Photo Credit: triggzBb via Compfight cc )