Andrea Miller, the head of Oregon CAUSA, says a minimum wage of $13.50 an hour is enough for a single parent, working full-time to be self-sufficient.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
A coalition of workers, business owners, and community organizations kicked off a campaign Wednesday to raise Oregon’s minimum wage.
Canvassers for ‘Raise the Wage’ will head out Saturday to Portland, Salem, Coos Bay, Bend, Eugene and Pendleton to talk to people about lobbying their local legislators.
Andrea Miller leads the Oregon Immigrant Rights group called CAUSA. She says $13.50 an hour is a wage at which a single parent, working full-time, can be self-sufficient.
“That is enough for them to pay rent, get groceries, school supplies etc. without having to rely on government benefits," she said.
Politicians discussed raising the minimum wage during this year's legislative session, but no bills were passed.
The ‘Raise the Wage’ coalition says it will start collecting signatures for a ballot measure, but it hopes to convince lawmakers to act sooner, during next year’s legislative session.
Oregon’s minimum wage stands at $9.25 an hour.
Restaurants, hotels and many other businesses that employ a lot of minimum wage workers say a pay hike would be bad for the economy. They say prices would rise, and that jobs would have to be cut.