15 soon

A ballot measure that would create the nation’s first statewide $15 minimum wage has just hit a milestone on its path to the November 2016 ballot.

According to a June 30 press release sent out by 15 Now PDX, Oregonians for 15—a coalition that supports raising the minimum wage—just introduced 2,000 signatures, with representation from all 36 counties, to the state legislature.

The press release, sent out by 15 Now organizers Kristi Wright and Justin Norton-Kerston, states, “The next step is for the Oregon Attorney General to approve a ballot title. Supporters of the measure must collect over 88,000 valid signatures by July 2016 to qualify for the November 2016 ballot. At least 35 labor unions and community groups have endorsed the ballot measure.”

Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles have all recently raised their citywide minimum wages to $15 per hour.

15 Now PDX and Oregonians for 15 hope to make Oregon the first in the nation to raise the statewide minimum wage in order to end poverty wages, according to the press release. For more information, visit oregoniansfor15.org