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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Oregon Shakespeare Festival works to improve accessibility ... Oregon standoff leader attends meeting, hears chants of 'go' ... Shoplifter slashed at off-duty Medford officer before fatal shooting, police say ... Oregon Shakespeare Festival works to improve accessibility ... Oregon standoff leader attends meeting, hears chants of 'go' ... Shoplifter slashed at off-duty Medford officer before fatal shooting, police say ... OUR VIEW Our View: Brown's minimum wage plan draws flak Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jan. 17, 2016 at 12:01 AM Posted Jan. 17, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Gov. Kate Brown's proposed minimum wage increase has already generated opposition from both sides of the issue, which might mean it has an outside chance of passing. That's undoubtedly Brown's intention. Whether she and majority Democratic leaders can push it through remains to be seen, and the debate could have large implications for the November election. Brown's proposal would set two separate minimums, one for the Portland area and one for the rest of the state. Outside Portland, the minimum wage would go from the present $9.25 an hour — already second highest in the nation — to $10.25 an hour next January, then gradually increase to a high of $13.50 an hour in 2022, after which it would be indexed to inflation, as is the existing minimum. Portland's wage would go to $11.79 in 2017 and rise to $15.52 over six years. One incentive for enacting a higher minimum this session is to head off planned initiative campaigns on the November ballot, one of which would set a statewide $15-an-hour minimum starting in 2019. The other, backed by labor unions, would set the wage at $13.50 and repeal a state-imposed ban on higher local wages. Supporters of the two measures have not agreed to drop their efforts. Opponents of Brown's plan, including Republican legislators and business groups including the restaurant industry, argue the move would cost jobs, especially in restaurants. The lobbying group Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association said the proposal would mean the loss of 55,000 jobs statewide. In Seattle, which started phasing in $15 minimum last year, initial figures suggested there might be a slight dip in the number of restaurant jobs, but nowhere near the thousands suggested by the Oregon restaurant group. Overall, the jobless rate in the Seattle area is at its lowest level since 2008. The restaurant group supports an offset for tipped employees, even under Oregon's existing minimum wage. That's something to consider with this proposal, even if it's obvious most tipped employees are hardly getting rich. Putting more money in the pockets of minimum wage workers gives them greater buying power, which supports the economy, too. And a sizable percentage of minimum-wage workers are adults, not teenagers living at home. Still, advocates for raising the wage were hardly overjoyed at Brown's plan, which falls short of what they are aiming for. If the Legislature rejects Brown's proposal and fails to pass a bill, the issue is almost certain to wind up in voters' hands in November. Opponents on both sides should consider what that means: Perhaps an even higher minimum wage, or perhaps no increase at all. We suspect Brown's compromise would look better to the losing side at that point. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jan. 17, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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