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AAHOA welcomes Oklahoma vote on wage proposal
AAHOA said Oklahoma voters rejected a proposal that would have raised the state's minimum wage to $15 by 2029.
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Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 17, Jun 2026
- 17:28 EDT
- 46
AAHOA / Facebook
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) on June 17 welcomed Oklahoma voters' decision to reject a ballot measure that sought to increase the state's minimum wage.
State Question 832, defeated by voters on June 16, would have gradually increased Oklahoma's minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour – unchanged since 2009 and aligned with the federal minimum wage - to $12 in 2027, $13.50 in 2028, and $15 in 2029, with future increases linked to the cost of living.
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It also would have expanded minimum wage coverage to categories of workers currently exempt under state law.
AAHOA said the outcome spares employers from a government-mandated wage increase that many small business owners feared would significantly raise operating costs and affect hiring and investment decisions.
"AAHOA congratulates Oklahoma voters for recognizing the challenges that significant wage mandates can create for small business owners," AAHOA chairman Rahul Patel said.
"Hotel owners support competitive wages and work hard every day to attract and retain employees, but compensation decisions are best made by employers based on local market conditions, not by one-size-fits-all government mandates. This vote helps preserve flexibility for Oklahoma businesses while protecting jobs and opportunities for workers,” he added.
Patel said hotel owners support competitive pay but argued that wage decisions should be guided by local market conditions rather than statewide mandates.
Labor costs are among the largest expenses for hotel operators, AAHOA noted, often accounting for 30 percent to 40 percent of a property's operating costs.
"When the government mandates a dramatic increase in labor costs, those increases don't happen in a vacuum. They affect hiring decisions, property improvements, guest pricing, and long-term investment," AAHOA president and CEO Laura Lee Blake said.
"Oklahoma voters recognized that small businesses need flexibility to respond to local market conditions, not automatic increases that continue year after year regardless of economic circumstances,” she added.
According to Oklahoma Voice, more than 30 states and the District of Columbia currently have minimum wages above the federal rate of $7.25 per hour, while Oklahoma remains among the states that have not raised their minimum wage above the federal floor.
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