Oregon Ballot Measure 25 (2002)

From Ballotpedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

Oregon Ballot Measure 25 (2002) is an initiated state statute that would raise minimum wage to from $6.50 to $6.90 and increase the wage in each subsequent year to compensate for inflation.[1]

Official Ballot Title

Increases Oregon Minimum Wage To $6.90 In 2003; Increases For Inflation In Future Years[2]

Proponents

Eugene P. Pronovost, Diane Rosenbaum, and Dan Gardner

Results

This measure passed by a close margain at the November 2002 General Election.Approved

Support

Supporters of the measure argue that $6.50 per hour is an almost impossible wage to live on and point out that it is not just teenagers who are working these low-wage jobs anymore and that even people working full time still struggle to stay above the poverty line.

Some of those who supported the measure are:

  • Pacific Green Party of Oregon
  • Oregon Center for Public Policy
  • Bill Bradbury, Oregon Secretary of State
  • Oregon School Employees Association
  • National Council of Jewish Women, Portland Section
  • Portland Fire Fighters Association
  • United Seniors of Oregon
  • Oregon Catholic Conference

Opposition

Two prominent opponents of Measure 25 were the Oregon Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) and the Oregon Restaurant Association, who argues that a recession is the worst time to raise minimum wage and points out that Oregon could lose up to 30,000 jobs because of an increase.[3]

Fighting back:

In 2003, these two organizations introduced House Bill 2624, which would eliminate the inflation adjustment provision of Measure 25. The measure passed.[4]

The Oregon chapter of NFIB, a small-business advocacy group, were glad to hear of the bill's passage. J.L. Wilson, the state director for the 12,000-member chapter said, "There is simply no getting around the hard facts that states with the highest minimum wage rates are the same ones with the highest unemployment rates."[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Explanatory Statement of this measure from the State Voting Guide
  2. ↑ Detailed information on this initiative from the Secretary of State
  3. ↑ Low-wage workers to get pay raise if labor-backed measure wins by the Northwest Labor Press
  4. ↑ Urban Inflation for the Minimum Wage:The Correct Measure for Oregon’s Farm Workers By Jeff Thompson, Oregon Center for Public Policy
  5. ↑ NFIB Thanks Oregon House of Representatives for Passage of HB 2624 from NIFB/Oregon
Retrieved from "http://www.ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Oregon_Ballot_Measure_25_(2002)"
Personal tools