The minimum wage hike approved by the Oregon State Legislature has roots in an influential program from the UW School of Social Work. When Gov. Kate Brown signs Senate Bill 1532, Oregon will create three regions each with its own minimum wage rate, representing a win by a collection of unions, civil rights groups and others, along with Democrats in Salem, who have for months pushed to boost the wages of low-income workers. But the passage of the bill by the House, despite widespread opposition by Republicans and some rural governments, also highlights the effectiveness of the University of Washington studies that guided the bill into its current form.
Dr. Diana Pearce, a senior lecturer at UW School of Social Work and director of the school’s Center for Women’s Welfare, leads an effort by the center to study what she called the basic costs of living in more than three dozen states in the United States, including Oregon. The study is called the Self-Sufficiency Standard and has influenced the debate in Oregon.