OKLAHOMA CITY – As proponents of a petition to raise minimum wage began gathering signatures this week, critics are preparing to fight if State Question 832 is to be placed on a November ballot.
SQ 832 will reach voters for a November ballot if signature gatherers collect 92,263 signatures in 90 days, by July 14. The Oklahoma State Chamber says it will be ready to defeat it.
If approved by voters, SQ 832 would increase minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2029 and raise it each year according to inflation calculations by the U.S. Department of Labor.
“We look forward to a vigorous campaign to educate Oklahomans about the disastrous policy that will crush working families through price increases on the heels of record inflation and put corner stores and family farms out of business,” State Chamber spokesperson Brent Skarky said in a prepared statement.
The Chamber, and other critics like state associations for the hospitality industry, say they are taking a “wait and see” approach to see if enough signatures are gathered to send it to the ballot.
It is not known how much financial backing the nonprofit, Raise the Wage Oklahoma, has obtained. Attempts to reach Raise the Wage Oklahoma were unsuccessful.
Chamber fundraising efforts have not begun, Skarky told Southwest Ledger Monday.
James Leewright is CEO and president of the Oklahoma Restaurant Association, state lodging and state travel industry associations. He also said the association is waiting to see how successful the petition gatherers are before considering resistance to the measure.
Critics like Leewright believe increasing minimum wage to $15 by 2029, and especially higher thereafter, will mean industries like restaurants and hotels with smaller profit margins may pass costs onto the customer, cut employees or even close.
“I don’t think that people understand that less than 2% of the nationwide population earn minimum wage, although I think that’s a little higher in our industry,” Leewright said.
California recently raised the minimum wage to $20 an hour. Since 2016, McDonald’s franchise owners there have vowed to use robotic technology to cut the number of workers if the wage rose, as reported by The Washington Post. However, trade industry publisher Restaurant Industry News reported this week that fast food restaurants
Turn to WAGES, p2 began implementing autonomous technology like order kiosks to replace front end cashiers years ago.
Leewright said Okl ahomans can expect to see more of that her e, especially if the w age goes even higher. According to the peti tion, the wage would be raised each year after 2029 based on the consumer price index, a U.S. Department of Labor inf lation calculator.
He also said that, while he dis favors a $15 an hour minimum wage, the uncer tainty of that f igure climbing much higher without recourse is a bigger concern.
“That’s the r eally big issue,” Leewright said of the rising w age.
If future projections in 15 years track with the last three years, Leewright said the wage could climb to $30 an hour, a f igure the Ledger was unable to independently verify.
Supporters have said wages have not kept up with the cost of living as inf lation, a rising in terest rate and a ho using supply shortage has b urdened lower wage earners.
Meanwhile, wages have risen as l abor shortages force employers to pay more to compete. The number of people available for work in Oklahoma has trended down since an all-time high in 1986, numerous census data analyses show.
According to job sites, like Zip Recruiter and Talent.com, the average hourly wage for an Oklahoma resident working for a business fluctuates between $20-$26 an hour. Oklahoma Policy Institute, a non partisan policy think tank, found two out of f ive residents make less than $18 a n hour, the wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
“Quite frankly, I think the market has done what it should and dictated a higher wage,” Leewright said.
Numerous attempts to pass a minimum wage increase bill have failed over the years at the Oklahoma Legislature. Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn has not issued a statement on SQ 832 and did not immediately return a request for comment.
Mindy Ragan Wood is an award-winning journalist with 18 years’ experience in city and county government as well as criminal justice. She can be reached at Mindy. Wood@Hilliary.com.