Oklahomans’ Minimum Wage Might Go Up by Almost Two Times

OKLAHOMA – As part of her work to show Oklahomans that change is possible, Amber England walks them through the ballot measure process.

The English government set up the Strategy 77 company in 2018 to make it easier for regular people to have a say in that process.

“I got tired of going back and forth between Democrats and Republicans,” England said. “I wanted to help regular people understand their power.” “That they could make an idea into a law.”

State Question 832 has to be on the Oklahoma ballot for people to be able to vote “yes.” Britain says that the 92,263 signatures needed to do so almost doubled from earlier this year when over 157,000 people signed the petition.

England said, “We’re going to be able to give struggling Oklahomans a much-needed pay raise.”

But will it come soon enough? Some problems still need to be fixed.

English said, “The state chamber has led the opposition here.” “They speak for big businesses and groups with perks.” Their fight against this doesn’t surprise me. They’d rather keep people from having power.

Leyah Yisrael, who used to live in Oklahoma, wants people in power to understand what it’s like to live on minimum pay alone.

“Think about what it would be like to have to work for $7.25 an hour,” Yisrael said. “That way they’d understand what that person is going through.”

England says that 320,000 Oklahomans make much less than $15 an hour and have trouble paying for things like rent, gas, and groceries. Daniel Yandell, a former firefighter who lives in Durant, told me that the current minimum isn’t enough.

“We’re in front of Walmart, and it cost $64 for two sacks that I probably didn’t buy,” Yandell said. “They made $7.50 an hour and couldn’t even take one person out to eat with a family of four.”

Governor Stitt may decide to put State Question 832 on the November ballot after the protest time ends on September 5. But that’s just wishful thinking. England hopes that it will be on the vote in the future if it isn’t in November.

English said, “Every day that he waits to issue that proclamation and set an election date is a day that Oklahoma workers are waiting for a pay raise.”

The “Raise the Wage” movement has signatures from all 77 of Oklahoma’s counties and is now waiting for Governor Stitt to decide what to do next. England wants voters to stay informed and join the campaign. To find out about future events, go to their website.

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