Minimum Wage Action Gathers Critics
State-mandated minimum wage draws ire across state
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — Those seeking a higher minimum wage in Oklahoma said they’re upset with Gov. Mary Fallin’s decision to sign a bill that prohibits cities from establishing mandatory minimum wage or vacation and sick-day requirements.
Attorney David Slane, who wrote the initiative petition for Oklahoma City, said that the new law, inked Monday night, threatens an effort to raise Oklahoma City’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.
“I think that we sort of lost common sense on this, and giving the people the right to vote on what they do in their city is really important,” Slane said. “It’s a real national debate with the $10.10 an hour minimum wage supported by the president, and this is sort of a microcosm of that debate.”
He said those collecting signatures will continue to do so with hopes of getting the 6,200 necessary to put the issue on the city’s ballot. The group is also considering a host of other options, including challenging the constitutionality of the new law and trying to get the 165,000 signatures necessary to amend the Oklahoma constitution.
Fallin previously has said she opposes raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour because she was “concerned that it would destroy jobs, and especially small business owners can’t afford to increase their minimum wage.”
After the governor signed law, her office released a statement saying raising the wage is not a path to bring people out of poverty.