Supporters and opponents of OK minimum wage petition react to upcoming deadline
The deadline for supporters of a petition to gradually raise the minimum wage in Oklahoma is less than two weeks away.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The deadline for supporters of a petition to gradually raise the minimum wage in Oklahoma is less than two weeks away.
A July 14 deadline was set by the State of Oklahoma for Station Question 832. The measure, if approved by voters, would gradually raise Oklahoma's minimum wage to $15 by 2029.
That breaks down to $9 in 2025, $10.50 in 2026, $12 in 2027, $13.50 in 2028 and then finally $15 in 2029. After that, the wording of the question says that increases would be tied to the U.S. Labor Department's Consumer Price Index. The current minimum wage in Oklahoma is $7.25.
"The costs of housing, groceries and gas have gone up, but wages have largely stayed the same," said Raise The Wage spokesperson Amber England.
England said volunteers have spent the last three months across Oklahoma gathering signatures from Oklahomans who'd like the issue to got to a vote of the people.
"What we're seeing is very positive from voters," said England. "They want to vote on this. They think it's silly that it's been nearly 15 years since we've had an increase in the minimum wage."
News 4 asked England if she believes the campaign will cross the threshold required to send the measure to a vote.
"We're doing great," said England. "I feel confident that we are going to turn in nearly double the number of signatures that we will need to qualify this measure."
Opponents of the measure have criticized its effectiveness. The State Chamber has argued that the open-ended linked to the Consumer Price Index is based on cost-of-living rates in larger cities like New York and San Francisco. The Chamber argues it would be crippling to Oklahomans across the board with very little leeway to catch up, appealing to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which denied the challenge in March.
News 4 received a statement from a Chamber spokesperson in response to a request for comment on the upcoming deadline:
"We look forward to a vigorous campaign to educate Oklahomans about the disastrous policy that will crush working families through price increases on the heels of record inflation and put corner stores and family farms out of business. This ballot initiative is bad for workers, bad for business, and bad for Oklahoma, and we are confident the voters of the State of Oklahoma will concur with our position.”
Ben Lepak- Executive Director, State Chamber Research Foundation
England argues the Chamber is not looking out for the best interests of Oklahomans.
"I've never known the State Chamber to be on the side of workers," said England. "They are out of touch with regular, everyday Oklahomans. Oklahomans want to be problem solvers. Politicians are just trying to put themselves in front of voters and Oklahomans aren't going to stand for it."
England was also critical of recent legislation signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt making the petitioning process more difficult. One law increases the amount of verification needed for each signature collected. Another law extends the timeline to challenge a petition from 10 to 90 days.
"I think that this campaign will send a strong message to the legislature to stop meddling in the process, that the people want to be able to decide issues for themselves," said England.
England said supporters will be collecting signatures leading up to the deadline across the state with plans to take the boxes into the Oklahoma Secretary of State's office on July 15 to be counted.