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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><img width="229" height="74" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image003.png@01CEB396.86AB1B70"></span></b><b><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Press Release<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For Immediate Release<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>September 17, 2013<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">CONTACT: Charlie Burr, (971) 673-0788 office, (503) 913-5407 cell.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt">Avakian raises 2014 minimum wage for nearly 100,000 workers</span></b><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;text-autospace:none">
<i><span style="color:black">Wage floor adjustment will boost consumer buying power, strengthen economy, says Avakian</span></i><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:black">PORTLAND–</span></b><span style="color:black">Oregon Labor and Industries Commissioner Brad Avakian today announced that Oregon’s minimum wage will increase to $9.10 on January 1, 2014, providing a .15 per hour
raise for 98,000 minimum wage workers.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">“Oregon can build a stronger economy by making sure that workers have the purchasing power they need to keep pace with the rising cost of everyday goods,” said Commissioner Avakian. “With this increase in Oregon’s
wage floor, nearly 100,000 Oregonians will earn more money for groceries, school supplies, gas and other household essentials. That’s good not just for individual workers, but for our state’s economy.”</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">The adjustment will mean that directly-affected employees working 30 hours a week will have $234 more to spend on goods in 2014. The increase is expected to generate more than $20 million in new consumer spending
for Oregon’s economy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">A 2002 ballot measure supported by a coalition of senior, labor and religious leaders –
</span>and sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Diane Rosenbaum – directs the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries to adjust the state’s minimum wage annually based on inflation. Each year, Commissioner Avakian calculates the adjustment by measuring the increase
to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a figure published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics to track prices for a fixed “market basket” of goods.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Earlier this year, Commissioner Avakian testified before the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee about Oregon’s successful experience indexing its minimum wage to provide businesses
with a high level of predictability for payroll expenses over time, avoiding major spikes. A chart tracking minimum wage adjustments since 2002 is available upon request.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One common misconception about employees earning a minimum wage is that they are mostly teenagers. However, according to the Economic Policy Institute, roughly 80-percent of all affected minimum wage workers living in states with an indexed
minimum wage last year were at least 20 years old. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“A strong minimum wage can help address growing income inequality while supporting local businesses that rely on strong consumer demand,” said Commissioner Avakian. “Oregon’s successful experience with an indexed minimum wage should serve
as a model for others looking to support their workforce and provide businesses with stable, predictable wage adjustments over time.”
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>###<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) protects Oregon’s workforce, supports local businesses with technical assistance, and enforces our state’s civil rights and wage and hour laws so that workers are protected and responsible employers
have a level playing field on which to operate. As Commissioner of Labor and Industries, Brad Avakian works to strength our state’s economy and workforce with smart, targeted investment in career and technical education.
<span style="color:black">For more information about BOLI, visit <a href="http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI">
http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI</a>.</span></i><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Charlie Burr<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Communications Director<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bureau of Labor and Industries<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">800 NE Oregon St., Ste. 1045<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Portland, OR 97232-2180<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(971) 673-0788 wk.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(503) 913-5407 cell.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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