Activists Call New Wage Plan “Another Step Backward”
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
The new plan from Dembrow would wages to $14.75 in the Portland metro area, $12.50 in rural and coastal areas with struggling economies and $13.50 in the rest of the state by 2022. It fails to raise minimum wage above $15 an hour, which activists who have been promoting an increase to the state’s wage floor say means it falls short.
“This bill isn't all that different from Governor Brown's proposal,” Justin Norton-Kerston, told GoLocal regarding the new plan. “It only gives an extra 25 cents over six years to more urban counties, and it goes backwards and reduces the proposed wage for a large number of rural counties. So if anything it this bill is yet another step backward away from the statewide $15 minimum wage that is needed to ensure working families have a fighting chance here in Oregon.”
Brown’s Plan No Better
Brown’s newest proposal calls for wages to be raised from $9.25 to $14.50 in Portland and $13.25 in the rest of the state by 2022.The earlier proposal called for minimums of $15.52 in the Portland area and $13.50 in the rest of the state by 2022.
“Based on feedback from stakeholders, I have refined my proposal, beginning implementation in 2016, so workers get higher pay sooner, and extending the glide path to give businesses more time to prepare for higher wages,” Brown said in a statement.
Activists fighting for wages to rise above $15 an hour took aim at the plan, calling it a weak effort.
“Originally, after almost a year of utter silence and complete lack of leadership from Governor Brown on this issue, she proposed $15.52 in six years for the 25 cities within the Portland urban growth boundary, and $13.50 in six years for the rest of the state with no restoration of local control over minimum wage laws,” Norton-Kerson, said. “This plan was already a compromise from the previous session where a statewide $15 minimum wage over a shorter three year phase in—and the restoration of local control of minimum wage laws—were the only proposals with any traction.”
Norton-Kerson also took aim that democrats in the legislature for capitulating to demands from big business. He said that while workers want to see local cities and municipalities decide their own minimum wage, lawmakers did not fight to end to preemption laws, which prevent local municipalities from raising the minimum wage above the statewide level.
“What did not change about her proposal is the ridiculously long phase in of six years, which renders the raise virtually meaningless,” Norton-Kerson said. “What also didn’t change is that local control is still not restored. As we expected, local control was the first of many things to be compromised away in Democrats’ fetish for ensuring that anything they pass meets at least some scant approval of their corporate election funders.”
Some Still Oppose Wage Hike
Anthony K. Smith, director of the Oregon chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, said that raising the minimum wage would have a negative impact on businesses in the area, forcing them to reduce hours or jobs.
“Small business owners across sectors are likely to suffer even more from rising labor costs, which will force owners to move operations to places with lower wages, or else cut jobs and worker hours,” Smith said. “The rising push towards minimum wages is a top threat to US small businesses.”
Business owners on the Idaho-Oregon border also headed to Salem last month for a wage hearing.
Many said that the proposed wage hikes would cripple their business. They threatened to move to Idaho if the minimum wage goes up.
Related Slideshow: Oregon’s 20 Best Jobs That Don’t Require a College Degree
There are many high-paying jobs in Oregon that don't require a four year college degree. The Oregon Employment Department looked at the average wages and future openings of these jobs. Check out what people can make without a degree.
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