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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 2015)
2C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 CRANBERRY CRAVE HISTORIC PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Craving cranberries over the winter is nothing new. The Chinook Observer shares some of its photos of local cranberry harvests in the 1920s and 30s. Labor commissioner sets priorities of new term On his list, boosting minimum wage CAPITAL THE BUREAU By PETER WONG Capital Bureau PORTLAND — As eco- nomic issues remain on center stage for the Oregon Legisla- ture, newly re-elected Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian says he’ll take an active role in advancing many of them during its 2015 session. The issues range from more state grants to re-establish ca- reer and technical education in public schools to a higher state minimum wage and pay equity. Despite Oregon’s econom- ic recovery, Avakian said, the downturn has had lingering ef- fects on many families. “Families still are having a hard time making ends meet, especially those who are our lowest wage workers,” Avakian said in an interview Monday, only hours before he was sworn in for a second four-year term at a ceremony in Portland. “We have come to the real- ization that these long-standing systemic problems have got to come to an end.” On his priority list for 2015: • More money for state grants to public schools to re-es- tablish career and technical ed- ucation. • An increase in Oregon’s minimum wage, now $9.25 per hour, to around $12 to enable workers to exceed the federal Associated Press Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian speaks during an in- terview, in Portland in 2011. poverty level. • More legal tools to combat wage theft, when businesses fail to pay workers what they have earned. • Several steps to implement pay equity among men and women, and minorities, includ- ing paid sick leave. More career programs When Avakian began his push for state grants in 2011, many public schools had dropped shop classes and other forms of career and technical education not connected with college preparation. Four years and almost $14 million later, more than 200 Oregon schools have re-estab- lished such programs as part of a joint effort of the Bureau of Labor and Industries, the state Department of Education, and businesses. Avakian said it’s a priori- ty that unites Democrats and Republicans, labor unions and businesses, and educators at all levels. “What it really means is providing great pathways to good-paying jobs, and provid- ing Oregon businesses with ex- actly what they need from good local workers to produce the goods and services they sell,” he said. “The good news is that ev- erybody is talking about doing something and wanting to ad- vance it.” Gov. John Kitzhaber’s bud- get proposes money for expand- ed career and technical educa- tion, and Avakian says he would like to see lawmakers set aside $50 million to continue such grants. Minimum wage In contrast, the looming de- bate about a minimum-wage increase is likely to be more contentious. Oregon’s wage just rose from $9.10 to $9.25 per hour, second only to Wash- ington’s $9.47, as a result of an automatic linkage that voters ap- proved in 2002 to the Consumer Price Index. “I think it’s important that our policy should be to make sure that nobody who is work- ing full time and is raising a family is living below the feder- al poverty level,” Avakian said. At the current rate of $9.25, a full-time minimum-wage work- er would earn $19,240 annually, slightly less than the $19,790 that was the 2014 federal pover- ty level for a household of three. (New levels for 2015 will be an- nounced soon.) At a rate of $12, that same worker would earn $25,000, well above the federal poverty level. Future increases, Avaki- an said, should continue to be Avakian said an increase Oregon workers, it would give them additional purchasing power of almost $250 million that would boost businesses. Avakian said he isn’t wed- land-based coalition wants the minimum wage to go to $15, which Seattle will have in 2018 — but that whatever it is, it should be statewide. The coali- tion also wants to repeal a 2001 law that bars Oregon cities and counties from setting their own minimums. “I am glad to see so many folks having a discussion about raising the minimum wage,” he said. “It’s really a sign of fam- ilies still struggling. What you are really getting at is making sure that everybody has the abil- ity to get ahead and do well.” Other priorities Avakian said he will seek more investigators and new authority to move against busi- nesses that fail to pay workers what they have earned. claims — almost half of them from food services and con- struction workers — between July 2012 and June 2013 total- ing more than $3 million. The extent of wage theft may be understated, says the Oregon Center for Public Policy based in Silverton, because of worker fears about retaliation and a lack of bureau staff to investigate complaints. Avakian said the expanded authority he seeks would allow counts and other assets of busi- nesses that fail to pay workers, but avoid compliance by chang- ing their names or shifting mon- ey around. Lawmakers in 2013 did pass a bill regulating construction labor brokers, who often are go-betweens for contractors and workers. That law takes effect July 1. Avakian also said he wants to make good on a number of rec- ommendations outlined a year ago by the Oregon Council on Civil Rights, which advised him on ways to achieve pay equity. A 2011 estimate pegged the average pay of Oregon wom- en at 79 cents for every dollar earned by men, and the gaps widened for black and Hispanic women. The national average is 77 cents. The Oregon pay-equity law dates back to 1955, eight years before the federal law. Among the steps Avakian schedules, time off for parents to attend their children’s events, and a requirement for paid sick leave. A paid sick-leave bill was heard by the Oregon House in 2013 but not advanced. Portland has had its own re- quirement for paid sick leave for a year; Eugene’s requirement will take effect July 1. “Uniformity is always the best way to go,” Avakian said, although he will let lawmak- ers decide what form paid sick leave should take. “Whether it includes pre-emption (of local government) is a discussion for the Legislature to have.” f o t s Be t u o b a R ea d th e WINNERS Readersʼ Choice Voted by YOU! www.coastweekend.com January 29th, 2015