Oregon Raise the Wage Initiative (2016)
| Oregon Raise the Wage Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Statute |
| Origin | Citizens |
| Topic | Minimum wage |
| Status | Not on the ballot |
| Not on Ballot |
|---|
 |
| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
The Raise the Wage Initiative (Petitions #57, #58, and #59) was an initiated state statute proposed for the Oregon ballot on November 8, 2016.
Supporters filed three versions of the measure—Raise the Wage Oregon 1, Raise the Wage Oregon 2 and Raise the Wage Oregon 3—and all three versions involved the minimum wage. All three were submitted by Jeff L. Anderson, Shaun H. Sieren, and Neena Johnson, and the differences among the petitions can be found below.
- Petition #57 would have allowed local governments to enact a minimum wage higher, but not lower, than the minimum required by state law.
- Petition #58 would have allowed local governments to enact a minimum wage higher, but not lower, than the minimum required by state law and would raise the state minimum wage to $13.50 by 2018.
- Petition #59 would have raised the state minimum wage to $13.50 by 2019.
Since these are different versions of the same measure, only one of the three would have made the ballot.
Petition #57
Ballot title
The certified ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ | Local governments may establish minimum wage higher than minimum established by state law.[2] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure can be found here.
Petition #58
Ballot title
The certified ballot title was as follows:[3]
| “ | Increases Oregon's minimum wage to $13.50 by 2018; local governments may establish higher wage.[2] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure can be found here.
Petition #59
Ballot title
The certified ballot title was as follows:[4]
| “ | Increases minimum wage: $11.00 in 2017; $12.25 in 2018; $13.50 in 2019.[2] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure can be found here.
Background
Multnomah County
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution on December 4, 2014, increasing the minimum wage for county employees to $15 per hour by July 2016. The increase was part of a collective bargaining deal between the county board and AFSCME Local 88, which represented about 2,600 county workers at the time. The wages of non-union temporary and on-call staff were also included in the resolution. This made Multnomah County the first county and largest public employer in Oregon to adopt a $15 minimum wage.[5]
Legislation
For the 2015 legislative session, a number of Democratic legislators introduced a bill, titled LC 1911, into the Oregon Legislature that would increase the state's hourly minimum wage to $15 by January 2016. Businesses with less than 10 employees would see the minimum wage increase to $12.50 in 2016 and then on to $15 in 2017. Sen. Chip Shields (D-22), the bill's chief sponsor, was approached by 15 Now PDX's Jamie Partridge, who worked with the senator to craft the legislation. Partridge said, "We [15 Now PDX] approached him. He's been a staunch supporter of working people for years. He also happens to be my personal senator. His office has been very helpful in advising us in how to go about getting other folks on board."[6]
Sen. Michael Dembrow (D-23), another sponsor of the bill, argued in favor of LC 1911, saying, "I think a lot of people want to see the Legislature look at making sure the work that people do allows them to stay out of dependency on public support. That's the purpose of the minimum wage." Sen. Tim Knopp (R-27) criticized the effort, arguing, "I think they are totally going in the wrong direction because this isn't sound economic policy. You're going to raise prices, and you're going to hurt the labor market."
Democrats had majorities in both the house and senate and could have passed LC 1911 without any Republican votes in favor. However, the Democratic sponsors of LC 1911 still needed to convince additional members of their caucus to sign on before the legislation can be passed.[6] House Majority Leader Val Hoyle (D-14) said she opposed a $15 minimum wage.[7] Anne McDonnell, a steering committee member of 15 NOW PDX and member of LiUNA Local 483, said a failure to pass LC 1911 would lead to a ballot initiative campaign. She contended, "No one deserves to live in poverty. If the legislature fails to pass $15 for the working class, then we will go to the ballot and the people of Oregon will pass it."[8]
The legislation passed both the Senate and House and proceeded to Gov. Kate Brown, who signed it into law on March 2, 2016.[9]
Support
The coalition leading support for the initiative was Raise the Wage Oregon.[10]
Supporters
The following groups were listed as Raise the Wage Oregon coalition members:[11]
- Our Oregon
- Oregon AFL-CIO
- Basic Rights Oregon
- Family Forward
- Oregon Education Association (OEA)
- SEIU Local 49, SEIU Local 503
- Oregon AFSCME
- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon
- Causa
- YWCA of Greater PDX
- United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555
- Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO)
- Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN)
- Main Street Alliance of Oregon
- Ecumenical Ministries OR
- Oregon Strong Voice - Bend, Medford, Eugene
- Urban League of Portland
- Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO)
- Working Families Organization
- Oregon Nurses Association
- Oregon Bus Project
- NW Workers' Justice Project
- Oregon Center for Public Policy
- Children First for Oregon
- Oregon Center for Christian Voices
- Portland Jobs with Justice
- Organizing for Action - Oregon
- Bakers & Grain Millers Union Local 114
- Oregon Latino Health Coalition
- Oregon Student Association
- Oregon Health Equity Alliance
- Adelante Mujeres
- Hawthorne Auto Clinic Inc.
- Paperjam Press
- Shwop
- Impact Northwest
- Portland Women's Crisis Line
- Bradley Angle
- NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon
- Working America
- Centro Latino Americano
- Columbia County Democrats
- Bitch Media
- American Association of University Women of Oregon
- Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local #1 Oregon
- Marion County Democrats
Arguments in favor
Raise the Wage Oregon listed several arguments for raising the minimum wage on its website, including the following:[12]
| “ | When people can’t afford to buy food, go to the doctor or make basic repairs, it drags our economy down. Putting more money in the pockets of consumers powers our local economy and helps small businesses grow.
The positive effects of raising the wage are explained by commonsense economics. One business’ employee is another business’ customer—and when customers have enough money in their pockets to spend on the basics, we all benefit.[2] |
” |
Opposition
Arguments against
Rep. Greg Smith (R-57) said,[13]
| “ | I think it’s very reasonable for there to be a modest increase in minimum wage. I want people to be able to take care of their families. But raising to $13.50 an hour, that’s a huge jump and I think it is going to have a negative impact on the economy.[2] | ” |
Path to the ballot
- All three versions of the proposal were submitted by Jeff L. Anderson, Shaun H. Sieren and Neena Johnson on September 28, 2015.[1][3][4]
- A title for each version was issued by the Oregon attorney general's office on December 9, 2015.[1][3][4]
- 88,184 valid signatures are required for each version of the measure for qualification purposes.[1][3][4]
- Supporters had until July 8, 2016, to collect the required signatures.
- After minimum wage legislation was passed in the Oregon State Legislature on March 2, 2016, Raise the Wage announced that it would suspend signature gathering.[14]
State profile
| Demographic data for Oregon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Oregon | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 4,024,634 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 95,988 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 85.1% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 1.8% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 4% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 4.1% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 12.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 89.8% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 30.8% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $51,243 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 18.4% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Oregon. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Oregon
Oregon voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, two are located in Oregon, accounting for 0.97 percent of the total pivot counties.[15]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Oregon had two Retained Pivot Counties, 1.10 of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Oregon coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Oregon
- United States congressional delegations from Oregon
- Public policy in Oregon
- Endorsers in Oregon
- Oregon fact checks
- More...
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Oregon Secretary of State, "Raise the Wage Oregon 1," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Oregon Secretary of State, "Raise the Wage Oregon 2," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Oregon Secretary of State, "Raise the Wage Oregon 3," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Multnomah County employee minimum wage to reach $15 per hour," December 4, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Statesman Journal, "Bill to raise Oregon minimum wage has Democratic support," December 12, 2014
- ↑ Bend Bulletin, "Oregon $15/hour minimum wage backers, foes assemble ahead of session," January 11, 2015
- ↑ 15 Now PDX, "Legislation for $15 Minimum Wage in Oregon Picks Up 11 Sponsors," December 11, 2014
- ↑ OPB, "Oregon Gov. Brown signs landmark minimum wage bill into law," March 2, 2016
- ↑ Raise the Wage Oregon, "Homepage," accessed January 20, 2016
- ↑ Raise the Wage Oregon, "Who we are," accessed January 20, 2016
- ↑ Raise the Wage Oregon, "Get the Facts," accessed January 20, 2016
- ↑ East Oregonian, "Proposals for minimum wage mean tough choices for rural legislators," January 15, 2016
- ↑ Raise the Wage Oregon, "Working families just won big...," accessed June 22, 2016
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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