Wage hike proposal raises concerns in Oregon

-Governor’s legislative proposal: Brown’s plan would increase metro Portland’s minimum to $11.79 and the rest of the state to $10.25 at the beginning of next year.

Forty-six people from Malheur County, half of them involved with agriculture, traveled 400 miles across icy roads January 14 to Salem to tell Oregon lawmakers that increasing the state’s minimum wage would devastate Eastern Oregon’s economy.

Labor issues have taken center stage in OR, as state lawmakers contemplate a bevy of new wage protections amid a statewide push to raise the minimum pay rate. Some called the idea a vital lifeline for families on the edge at a time of rising housing costs.

Democratic Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday unveiled a plan to boost the state minimum wage from $9.25 to $13.50. Many Oregonians working full-time can’t make ends meet, and that’s not right. Justin Norton-Kertson is with Oregonians for 15.

She expects the legislature to debate the plan when it convenes in February.

“Malheur County Onion Shippers feel that if there is an increase in Oregon’s minimum wage, they have two options: become more mechanized or relocate their businesses across the border in Idaho”, Trask said. The governor’s plan is not enough to bring workers out of poverty.

Business groups opposed to a minimum wage hike also are gearing up to try to defeat the initiative.

Even with a six-year lag, the plan’s resulting minimum wage would most likely be significantly higher than it would be if nothing is done.

Separately, activists said they are circulating a proposed ballot measure to raise Oregon’s minimum wage to $13.50 an hour by 2018 should the governor’s effort fail. He said his group will continue gathering signatures for an initiative that would hike the hourly minimum wage to $15 statewide by 2019.

Courtney and Kotek said they’re confident the ballot measures won’t advance as long as a legislative deal reflects Portland’s higher cost of living.

Darrel Hanson said each of his four employees now makes more than minimum wage.

“The costs of essentials such as food, child care and rent are rising so fast that wages can’t keep up”, Brown said in a statement announcing her decision. Let’s just vote”, Kotek, making clear that in her “personal opinion, I would want to move faster.

In Oregon, the issue largely stems from explosive growth in metro Portland. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, that would have set three different regional minimums around the state, said Chris Pair, a press secretary in Brown’s office.

“This proposal and the one that I’ve been working on are very close, so I don’t see a need to go forward with mine”, Dembrow said.

Business groups that participated in the talks, including the Portland Business Alliance, Northwest Grocery Association and Oregon Business Association, claimed in a statement that Brown ignored a less-aggressive alternative that nonetheless would have put Oregon in the top tier on minimum pay.