September2i, 2011______________
Minority & Small Business Week_____________________Pjge 13
Lowest Wage to Rise
continued
from fron t
businesses is never easy.
“T im es are h ard e n o u g h ,”
M cM urtry said.
“I believe everyone should get
paid for the work they do,” she
said. “ But if m inim um wage were
not quite as high, then the em
ployer would have more latitude
to reward good w orkers.”
O re g o n 's c u rre n t m inim um
wage is the nation's second high
est, trailin g only W ashington
$8.67 minimum hourly wage. The
state is also one of 18 states plus
the D istrict of Colum bia that have
a minimum wage above the federal
m inim um wage of $7.25 per hour,
which is not scheduled to in
crease.
Even though O regon has a
higher m inim um wage than other
states, it is not enough to prevent
poverty am ong som e w orking
families.
Sheketoff said at $8.80 an hour,
a full-time minimum wage worker
will earn $18,304, still below the
2011 federal poverty guideline for
a family of three ($ 18,530). He said
the Oregon m inim um wage, how
ever, does lift one- and two-per-
proportion of individuals working
in or at minimum wage,” he said.
Estabrook explained, in any in
dustry where you are working on
thin margins and depend more on
volume, planning ahead is essential
to deal with the increasing minimum
wage, and some businesses may be
better able to adjust than others.
He said, however, they under
stand these businesses are feeling
the pinch in terms of other costs,
including the increase of the Con
sumer Price Index in one year, which
not only affects working families,
but also business entrepreneurs.
“Obviously it is not as simple as
raising prices,” he said.
Tuan Huynh Ba, the owner of
T uan’s 76 Auto Service at 33rd
A venue
and
N o rth e a s t
K illingsw orth, said the rise in
wages will definitely affect his
business. “I don’t know if I can
afford it. 1 c an ’t raise the price of
gas,” he said.
While increased wages is a posi
tive for those who have jobs, he
asked, w hat about those who
don’t? “My garage, business has
slow ed dow n because people
c an ’t afford to fix their car be
cause they don’t have jo b s,” he
The annual adjustment of our state
minimum wage is designed to account
for inflation and prices, so someone
making minimum wage is not
progressively losing the value in their
wages based on inflation.
— Bob Estabrook, communications director for the state bureau
son fam ilies out of poverty.
"Oregonians were smart to raise
the m inim um wage and keep it
from being eroded by inflation,"
he said. "Oregon’s minimum wage
system helps fight poverty and
incom e inequality and is a model
for the nation."
According to Avakian, minimum
wage laws are essential to ensure
workers and families can maintain
their purchasing pow er, which
keeps the local economy afloat.
Although, he said, five out of
six employers within Oregon don’t
offer m inimum wage jobs, future
dialogue is necessary with busi
nesses, and m any sm all b u si
nesses that do. “ U nderstanding
their challenges,” he said, “will
benefit our entire econom y.”
Bob Estabrook, the communica
tions director for the state bureau,
said the impact of the minimum wage
increase on entrepreneurs is not as
simple as saying small businesses
could be hurt and large businesses
will be in the clear.
“You have to look at a particular
workforce a business has; this is
especially true for the food and bev
erage industry, which has a larger
said. “The rise in prices has af
fected everybody.”
According to Estabrook, infla
tion and a rise in prices does not
come as a surprise to the general
population.
“I think most folks generally
recognize the cost has been going
up and inflation is happening,” he
said. “The annual adjustm ent of
our state m inim um wage is de
signed to account for inflation
and prices, so someone making
m inimum wage is not progres
sively losing the value in their
wages based on inflation.”
Like Avakian, Estabrook em
phasized the im portance of m ain
taining dialogue with businesses,
especially small businesses, and
he said entrepreneurs, through
B O LI’s Technical Assistance for
Employers Program, are invited to
call with questions, concerns and
challenges they are facing.
Revised minimum wage posters
reflecting the new rate will also be
available for free download from
BOLI’s website in December. That
site, which includes additional in
formation about all of BOLL s activi
ties, is Oregon.gov/BOLI.
Physical Activity to Fight Obesity
First lady Michelle Obama hits a tennis ball to highlight the importance of physical activity for
kids at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York during the U.S. Open earlier this
month. Mrs. Obama has been campaigning against childhood obesity and praised the U.S.
Tennis Association's initiative to build kid-sized courts. (AP photo)
Obama on Fire over Jobs, Taxes
c o n t i n u e d f r o m front
gency workers.
On Monday, Obama spelled out a long-term debt
stabilizing plan that aims to cut the deficit by about
$3 trillion over 10 years. Obama is making his proposal
to a special congressional committee that has been
charged with lowering deficit by $ 1.2 trillion to $ 1.5
trillion.
"But right now, we've got to get Congress to pass
this jobs bill," Obama said.
Obama's jobs plan has received a tepid reception
from Republicans, who are willing to consider some
of his tax relief proposals, but not his spending plans.
His proposal to pay for the plan with limits on tax
deductions and closing corporate tax loopholes is
facing stiff GOP resistance, and even Democrats have
pushed back on some of those provisions in the past.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,
said simply approving tax cuts without including
spending on public works and local and state govern
ment assistance would not do enough to spur the
economy.
T a k e th e
W
?
Take
President Barack Obama
"To take one piece or another, it doesn't create the
dynamism we need," she said.
Rep. Peter Roskam of Illinois called on Obama to
reduce regulations on businesses, saying govern
ment agency rules were choking off hiring. "Wash
ington has become a red tape factory," he said.
He pressed Obama to push the Democratic-con-
trolled Senate to adopt House Republican initiatives,
including legislation that would give Congress veto
power over certain high-cost regulations.
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