Hardworking Oregonians who are paid minimum wage – women, people of color, immigrants and families – simply don’t earn enough to make ends meet.  An Oregon worker earning minimum wage at a full-time job takes home just $19,240 a year – not nearly enough to afford housing, food, gas and other necessities for a family, let alone save for the future.

No one who works a full-time job in Oregon should be forced to live in poverty.

If someone is working hard at a full time job, they should be paid a salary they can live on. Oregon workers deserve better.

Oregon’s economy can do better, too. Raising the minimum wage puts more money in the pockets of consumers, powering our local economy and helping small businesses grow. Research shows that small businesses benefit from cost savings as a result of less employee turnover, reductions in absenteeism, and improved performance.

In everything from public opinion polling to thousands of workers showing at rally after rally, we’ve seen support for a raise in the minimum wage growing around the state. Oregonians in low-wage jobs have been waiting for decades to get a significant raise and folks around the state are getting tired of waiting for action. It’s time to do what’s right for Oregon workers and the state’s economy.

We can’t afford to push this issue off any longer. The stakes are too high.

Our Oregon is part of the Fair Shot coalition that is calling for a substantial increase to the minimum wage to help every working Oregonian have the pay they deserve for a hard day’s work. The Fair Shot For All coalition is fighting for the minimum wage and more, and they’re sending lawmakers a message loud and clear: It’s time Oregonians have a fair shot at getting ahead, not just getting by.

Learn more at www.raisethewageoregon.org