Minimum Wage Increasing In More Than 20 States In 2023, Oklahoma Not One Of Them

The minimum wage in many states went up this year, but here in Oklahoma, it’s still $7.25.

The minimum wage in Oklahoma hasn’t seen an increase since 2008 with an employee making $7.25 an hour, earning just more than $15,000 a year. Reno Hammond, a Business Manager at the Laborer’s International Union of North America, says low pay makes it tough for workers to get by.

"It's hard on the families, it's just another example of why if it's more than one person, the family has to have two people working just to get by," said Hammond.

Some employers, like the University of Tulsa, are paying nearly double the minimum wage for starting jobs, in an effort to recruit better workers. Mona Chamberlin, the spokeswoman for the university, says the move has really helped their employees.

"Whether they're faculty members, or administrators, or service employees, we really want to be the best,” said Chamberlin. “By providing a $15 an hour minimum wage to our staff members, that really locks in a great position and makes us a great employer for Tulsa."

A Senate bill being discussed this year at the State Capitol would boost the minimum wage in Oklahoma to $13 an hour with a 50-cent increase each year for five years. Hammond thinks paying employees more could help keep Oklahomans from crossing state lines for job opportunities.

"The kind of people that we need in this state, the kind of people that get the work done, are moving,” said Hammond. "People will chase where the dollars are and where the better working conditions and benefits and things are, and state borders aren't going to stop that."

Opponents of increasing the minimum wage say that money has to come from somewhere, so other prices could increase but Hammond argues the bigger cost is the workers that are lost.

"I'm not saying that if you increase the minimum wage across the board, there won't be some hikes in some of the cost of products and things like that,” said Hammond. “But what's the cost of not giving them a minimum wage?"

Oklahoma Senate Bill 163 which would increase Oklahoma’s minimum wage was introduced Wednesday and is scheduled to be read in February.