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On July 1, the fast-food crews working Portland's Northeast 82nd Avenue got a raise.
They weren't alone, of course. Across the Portland metro area, the minimum wage jumped $1.50 an hour—from $9.75 to $11.25.
The wage increase came as the first step in a series of hikes approved by the Oregon Legislature in 2016. By 2022, no worker in Portland will make less than $14.75 an hour.
Last week, WW dropped by one of the places where the new wage will be immediately felt: the line of fast-food franchises clustered on 82nd near Madison High School. We asked more than a dozen minimum-wage workers what the increase will mean for them.
Rodolfo Lagunas
Subway employee for 11 years
Has he heard about the increase? Yes.
What it will mean for him: "Life right now is so hard, a little bit of money or extra income is always good. It would hurt the business probably. They probably have to raise prices everywhere, which would probably be bad for business."
Mayra Lagunas
Subway employee for 14 years
Has she heard about the increase? "No, not yet."
What it will mean for her: "Even a quarter or whatever is a big help. We have to make a lot of payments. The most important thing is the rent, because the rent is going up. Everything is going up."
Gloria Aguirre (not pictured)
McDonald's employee
Has she heard about the increase? Yes.
What it will mean for her: "It is more money for the work I am doing. [But] the prices might go up. I do have a daughter, and buying stuff for her or just grocery shopping might be more expensive."
Ken Avery
Popeye's employee for 10 years
Has he heard about the increase? No.
What it will mean for him: "The prices go higher, the management has no choice but to raise the prices to meet their overhead, and as part of the deal they cut employee hours and maybe even lay some of us off. So, I mean, it's just a bad idea all around. People like me need to learn to live within our means. That's what it comes down to."
Nick Ventura
Pizza Guys employee
Has he heard about the increase? Yes, but "I still don't even really know what's going on."
What it will mean for him: "Having more money, I can put towards bills, car insurance. I know right now I'm kind of on a tight budget where money goes to bills. Working for $9.75 sometimes doesn't feel worth it."
Cory Baker
Popeye's employee for one year
Has he heard about the increase? Yes.
What it will mean for him: "The food prices are just going up too, so it's not like we can catch up. At Jack in the Box, they used to have the two tacos for a dollar. It's not no more. They raised the prices before the minimum wage even went up. They get a head start—why can't we get a head start? It's not going to do nothing for me. These checks go straight to bills."