City Club Says “Portland Needs a Higher Minimum Wage”

Saturday, October 31, 2015

In a new report, the City Club of Portland endorsed plans to raise the cit’s minimum wage, citing the city’s quickly increasing cost of living and housing expenses.

“Our committee was asked to address two questions,” the City Club’s report reads. “1) Should individual municipalities in Oregon be allowed to set unique minimum wage rates that are higher than the state-set minimum? And, 2) Should Portland specifically set a higher minimum wage than the state-set rate? The simple answer to both of these questions is yes.”

The City Club heard testimony from, “every side of the minimum wage debate,” according to the report, including business interests, politicians, economists, activists employers and interest group representatives.

In their report, the City Club made four recommendations on the minimum wage. They advocated for the removal of a statute that keeps cities from raising their minus wage over the state-wide minimum, currently at $9.25/hour and for the City Council to establish a minimum wage higher than the state-wide figure.

The City Club also called on the Portland City Council to commission a minimum wage study for the city and “immediately establish a deliberative process that brings
together business, labor, political and citizen groups to recommend a minimum wage for Portland, along with a complete implementation plan.”

“More than a third of people working in the Portland area earn less than $15 per hour,” Committee Chair Maria Thi Mai said. “Unlike in the past, those people increasingly are not teenagers but middle-aged workers who do not earn enough to support themselves and their families even if they work full-time or more.”

Others Weigh In

As GoLocal reported, both Mayor Charlie Hales and mayoral candidate and State Treasurer Ted Wheeler, said they were in favor of raising wages in Portland.

John Taponga, President of ECONorthwest, told GoLocal that he supports an increase to the city’s minimum wage, but warned against setting the wage floor at too high of a level.

“What you really want to do is make sure that the minimum wage is at about 50 percent of the median wage, which does leave room for an increase to Portland’s minimum wage” Taponga said. “Otherwise, if you move beyond that, you start to see some of the other negative effects that people associate with raising wages.”

Among them Taponga said, are the risks of businesses laying off workers or “switching to technology as a substitute for a more expensive workforce.”

Sandra McDonough, President and CEO of the Portland Business Alliance, told GoLocal the Alliance does not support local municipalities like the city of Portland setting a different wage.

“Minimum wage impacts communities across Oregon, so we think it makes sense that a comprehensive policy be set by the Legislature rather than city by city,” McDonough said. “We are prepared to be part of a collaborative discussion about minimum wage with the Legislature in 2016."