Portland minimum wage changes won’t appear on November ballot

Changes to Portland’s minimum wage will not be on the ballot in November.

The decision comes after the City Council heard over an hour of testimony on Monday over both tipped-wage changes, and an increase to the citywide minimum wage.

“I’ll sit down with the media and show you my books,” said Michael Fraser, who owns seven restaurants in Portland. It’s brutal, it’s really freaking hard. This will make it harder.”

Service workers in Portland currently make a tipped-credit wage. That’s half the minimum wage, plus tips. And there’s an added safety net, that a service worker’s employer must make up the difference if they make less than the city’s minimum wage after tips.

On Monday night, the Portland City Council considered a proposal to change that. The ordinance would have required service workers to be paid the full $15 minimum wage, plus tips.

But workers argued that would lose them money.

“We as an industry are not asking for this because we understand the unintended consequences that come from this like lower tips and fewer jobs,” said Kylie Shea, a bartender in Portland.

It’s an issue that failed at the polls in 2022. Had it passed through the council on Monday night, it would have gone back to the ballot.

Plus, councilors considered a second referendum question to raise the city’s minimum wage to $20 by 2028.

“Minimum wage needs to be $20,” said Wes Pelletier, a candidate for the City Council. “It’s impossible to live in Portland on less than minimum wage. It’s almost impossible to live on $20.”

“The proposed change to go to a $20 minimum wage would simply decimate us,” said Karen MacDonald, executive director of Port Resources. “Just for our Portland-based workforce, this increase would cost us an extra $312,000 annually.”

But instead of heading to the polls, the council voted to send both issues to committee for more review.

Some councilors had concerns about the effect the changes would have on Portland’s economy.

“I think we need a reality check that wage policy is greater than the boundaries of Portland,” Mayor Mark Dion said.

Because both issues were sent to committee, neither will appear on November’s ballot. But the council could consider these issues again in the future.