High voter turnout, increased inequality spur local minimum wage victories
“In 2015, voters in Portland rejected a referendum to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by a 58 to 42 percent margin. In the 2020 election, however, 62 percent of Portlanders voted in favor of a $15 wage, and similar results across the state and country signal a broader shift in favor of higher minimum wages. The minimum wage initiative was put forward by a local, grassroots group People First Portland. The measure also grants time-and-a-half hazard pay during emergencies, although the implementation of that portion of the initiative is in question after Portland Mayor Kate Snyder said the city would not enforce it until 2022, a decision People First Portland said is at odds with the ordinance and contrary to the information provided to voters about the policy by both supporters and opponents.”