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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2010)
Oct 1-2010:NWLP 9/28/10 10:01 AM Page 4 It is Not Too Late To Register to Vote: Washington voters: Standard applications must be postmarked no later than Monday, Oct. 4. Late Deadline: You can register in person at your County Elections office until Monday Oct. 25. Oregon’s minimum wage gets a 10-cent-an-hour boost Oregon’s minimum wage will rise from $8.40 to $8.50 an hour on Jan. 1, 2011. The 10-cent increase mirrors a 1.15 per- cent increase in the Consumer Price Index since August 2009. Oregon’s minimum wage rate has been $8.40 per hour since Jan. 1, 2009. Washington’s minimum wage is cur- rently $8.55 per hour, while the federal minimum wage is $7.25. Washington an- nounced its adjustment on Sept. 30, after this issue went to press. “This modest increase is the result of a slowly but steadily rising cost of living fac- ing Oregon workers,” said Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian said. “By helping workers and their families preserve their purchasing power in difficult times, our strong minimum wage law also bene- fits our local economies, where workers spend most of their paychecks.” Ballot Measure 25, enacted by Oregon voters in 2002, requires a minimum wage adjustment annually based on changes in inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) is directed to adjust the minimum wage for in- flation every September, rounded to the nearest five cents. “We all know working Oregonians are struggling,” said State Sen. Diane Rosen- baum (D-Portland), who was a chief peti- tioner for Ballot Measure 25. “Thousands of Oregon families are fighting to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads by working full-time at minimum wage jobs, and every cent counts in this economy.” Oregon and Washington are two of 10 states, with Vermont, Ohio, Nevada, Mon- tana, Missouri, Florida, Colorado, and Ari- zona, that annually adjusts the minimum wage based on inflation and the CPI. The CPI, which is published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed “market basket” of goods and services, such as food, shelter, medical care, transportation fares and other goods and services people purchase for day-to-day living. A full-time minimum wage worker will earn $17,680 under the new wage. If such a worker is the sole breadwinner for a family of three, that family still falls below the fed- eral poverty line. The minimum wage would need to be greater than $8.80 to pull that three-person family out of poverty, according to the Ore- gon Center for Public Policy, a non-partisan research institute that does research and analysis on budget, tax and economic issues. Zachary Zabinsky • Social Security Disability • Auto Accidents Personal Attention To Every Case Working For Disability Rights Since 1983 NO FEE WITHOUT RECOVERY 621 SW Morrison, Portland 503-223-8517 PAGE 4 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS OCTOBER 1, 2010
