FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: House Minority Leader Scott Inman
Capitol: (405) 557-7370

Contact: State Rep. Mike Shelton
Capitol: (405 557-7367

Increase in Minimum Wage Rejected by House Republicans

OKLAHOMA CITY – Only one House Republican joined House Democrats when a vote was taken Monday afternoon on a proposal to raise the minimum wage in Oklahoma.

Rep. Mike Shelton lodged a motion to suspend the House Rules in order to file an untimely amendment to a House measure in order to raise the minimum wage over the next three years: from $7.25 per hour to $10 per hour.

“It is vital that we use every option available to us as a legislature to help the working people of Oklahoma,” said Shelton, D-Oklahoma City.

According to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, nearly half (47.8%) of working-aged Oklahomans who were impoverished in 2013 worked full- or part-time. In addition, 30.5% of the jobs in Oklahoma are considered low-wage. Kids Count, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, reported that 627,000 Oklahomans were living in poverty in 2013.

“No one should work a full-time job in the United States and live in poverty,” said Rep. Eric Proctor, D-Tulsa. Several states – including Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Maine, Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Nevada and New York – have already raised their minimum wage, Proctor related.

In addition, the Cherokee Nation recently raised its minimum wage to $9.50 per hour, Proctor said.

Shelton’s motion was defeated on a 27-57 vote. The proposal was endorsed by 26 Democrats and one Republican, and all 57 votes in opposition were cast by Republicans. Three House Democrats were absent when the vote was taken.

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MIKE W. RAY
Media Director, Democratic Caucus
Oklahoma House of Representatives
(405) 962-7819 office
(405) 245-4411 mobile