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.

The Gayly – March 3, 2015 @ 8am.