Incoming Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Junior has announced another "first 100 days" initiative: raising the Cherokee Nation minimum wage from $9.50 to $11 an hour.
Deputy Chief-Elect Bryan Warner said minimum wage is something they heard about a lot during the campaign, and he hopes the increase will make it a little easier for families to make ends meet and maybe even start building their savings.
"As that pay scale goes up, that’s what we want to do is promote something that people can always keep their eye on the horizon and always know that they can take that next step up," Warner said.
An executive order increasing the minimum wage will take effect Oct. 1, subject to the council approving the nation’s budget.
Right now, 99 government employees make minimum wage, and another 316 earn less than $11 an hour. About 1,400 workers making between $11 and $15 an hour will also get raises.
"I understand the dynamics of this and people that are in that middle ground. It becomes very territorial on how their wage is affected also when you’re trying to bring up the bottom. So, there’s a right way to do things," Warner said.
The federal minimum wage is $7.25.
Earlier this month, Hoskin announced a $30 million increase for a housing and community building repair fund. Warner said they have other "first 100 days" ideas in mind, like bridging the digital divide to rural areas.
"Getting in that infrastructure of that internet and that fiber and stuff like that to those areas because in education, we see the commercials nowadays about all the online schools. We want our people to have those same opportunities if that’s what they want to do," Warner said.
