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oklahoma
Workers Are Paying the Price for Federal and State Refusal to Raise the Minimum Wage
Workers nationwide deserve wages that keep pace with the real cost of living.
Jun 07, 2026
For years, Congress and elected officials across the country have sidestepped one of the clearest economic problems facing working families: The minimum wage no longer keeps pace with the real cost of living.
Today, even full-time work at the federal minimum wage doesn’t pay enough to rent a market-rate two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the country. And too often, politicians have intervened to keep it that way.
For example, I live in Oklahoma, where the state minimum wage has been tied to the federal rate of $7.25 an hour since 2009. As a result, a full-time minimum-wage worker here earns about $15,000 a year before taxes—below the poverty line for an individual and wholly inadequate to survive.
This problem did not happen by accident.
An economy works best when working people can afford to participate in it.
In Oklahoma, some state lawmakers introduced bills to raise the minimum wage year after year—only to see those proposals die without a hearing or a vote. In 2014, the legislature went even further, passing a law that prevented cities and towns from raising local wages, even if local voters and community leaders supported the change.
That meant Oklahomans who wanted to see workers earn a fair wage were left with one remaining option: taking the issue directly to the people.
Again and again, voters in red, blue, and purple states alike have passed measures to raise their minimum wages. In the last decade or so, voters have approved minimum-wage increases in about a dozen states, including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Washington, plus DC.
In early 2024, Oklahomans turned to the state’s initiative petition process as well. Over 150,00 voters signed a petition to place State Question 832 on the ballot. If approved, SQ 832 will gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour over several years and then index future increases to the Consumer Price Index after 2030.
Yet even as Oklahomans moved toward a vote, politics intervened. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt delayed the election for SQ 832 nearly two years. The wait is about to come to an end on June 16—when voters will finally get their say.
In the meantime, the delay and political games have forced working families in Oklahoma to wait as costs continue to rise. While wages for our lowest-wage workers have been frozen for 17 years, housing, groceries, and utility bills have all become more expensive.
Today, a minimum-wage earner in Oklahoma would need to work about 93 hours a week—more than two full-time jobs—just to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment at fair market rent.
No one should have to work that much simply to survive. That fact is proof that the current economy is failing many of the people who keep our communities running.
Workers most affected by legislative inaction are the very people we rely on every day: home health aides caring for seniors, childcare workers helping parents stay employed, restaurant staff serving meals, retail workers keeping stores open, and hotel staff assisting travelers. Many of these essential workers still struggle to afford basic necessities.
Our working families have spent years shouldering the cost of federal and state inaction. They are paying the costs through financial stress, unstable housing, delayed healthcare, and less time with their families because they are constantly working to stay afloat.
Many other states have already raised the minimum wage above the federal level, recognizing a simple truth: An economy works best when working people can afford to participate in it.
SQ 832 gives Oklahoma voters the chance to move the state forward after years of legislative inaction. On June 16, Oklahoma voters can take an important step themselves.
But this issue should not rest solely on state ballot measures. Workers nationwide deserve wages that keep pace with the real cost of living—a goal that ultimately requires action from Congress, too.
Because hard work should mean stability, not poverty.
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University of Oklahoma Removes Teacher Over Failing Grade for Student's Bible-Based Gender Essay
"So if a geology student at the University of Oklahoma says in class the earth is 6,000 years young because that’s what they believe, a geology teacher can’t say squat?" asked one critic.
Dec 23, 2025
A decision from the University of Oklahoma on Monday left some asking whether the research university can still be seen as having "academic standards" after an instructor was removed from teaching duties for giving a failing grade to a student who focused on her own religious beliefs about gender in a paper for a psychology course.
The university released a statement saying the graduate teaching assistant in the course, Mel Curth, had been "arbitrary" in the grading of a paper by student Samantha Fulnecky, who wrote an assigned essay about an article the class read about gender, peer relations, sterotyping, and mental health for the course.
Fulnecky's paper cited the Bible and focused heavily on her beliefs that "God made male and female and made us differently from each other on purpose and for a purpose."
"Women naturally want to do womanly things because God created us with those womanly desires in our hearts. The same goes for men," she wrote in the essay, adding that "society pushing the lie that there are multiple genders and everyone should be whatever they want to be is demonic and severely harms American youth."
Curth, who is transgender, gave Fulnecky a zero for the essay and emphasized in her response that she was "not deducting points because you have certain beliefs," but because the paper "does not answer the questions for the assignment, contradicts itself, heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class, and is at times offensive."
"Using your own personal beliefs to argue against the findings of not only this article, but the findings of countless articles across psychology, biology, sociology, etc. is not best practice," Curth wrote.
Another instructor concurred with Curth on the grade, telling Fulnecky that "everyone has different ways in which they see the world, but in an academic course such as this you are being asked to support your ideas with empirical evidence and higher-level reasoning."
On Monday, the university suggested Curth's explanation for the grade was not satisfactory.
"What is there to say other than that the University of Oklahoma has no academic standards?" asked journalist Peter Sterne in response to the university's statement.
One civil rights advocate, Brian Tashman, added that the school's decision opens up numerous questions about how academic papers that focus on a student's religious beliefs will be graded in the future.
"So if a geology student at the University of Oklahoma says in class the earth is 6,000 years young because that’s what they believe, a geology teacher can’t say squat?" asked Tashman. "What if their religion teaches the earth is flat? Or that all of mankind’s problems can be traced back to Xenu?"
Curth had initially been placed on administrative leave earlier this month when Fulnecky filed a religious discrimination complaint with the school.
Fulnecky's allegations drew the attention of the school's chapter of Turning Point USA, the right-wing group that advocates for conservative political views on college and high school campuses. The group is closely aligned with the Trump administration. Vice President JD Vance spoke at Turning Point's AmericaFest last weekend—and used the appearance to tell young conservatives that their movement should not root out antisemitism with "purity tests"—and the assassination of its founder, Charlie Kirk, earlier this year, was followed by the White House's efforts to crack down on what it called left-wing extremism, with President Donald Trump directly blaming the "radical left" for Kirk's killing before a suspect was identified.
While Fulnecky garnered support from the Turning Point chapter, hundreds of her fellow students rallied in support of Curth in recent weeks, chanting, "Protect Our Professors!" at a recent protest.
A lawyer for Curth said Monday that she is "considering all of her legal remedies, including appealing this decision by the university."
“Ms. Curth continues to deny that she engaged in any arbitrary behavior regarding the student’s work," Brittany M. Stewart told the Washington Post.
The university did not release its findings of the religious discrimination investigation it opened into Fulnecky's case.
The school's decision to remove Curth from teaching duties, said author Hemant Mehta, "is what academic cowardice looks like."
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Facing Death Penalty, Tremane Wood Granted Surprise Last-Minute Reprieve
"I'm so, so grateful for everyone who fought so hard and diligently to save my son," said his mother. "For the first time in months, I'm able to breathe."
Nov 13, 2025
Tremane Wood's family members and death penalty opponents welcomed Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's decision to grant clemency on Thursday morning, just minutes before the 46-year-old was set to be executed by lethal injection for a murder his late brother admitted to committing.
"After a thorough review of the facts and prayerful consideration, I have chosen to accept the Pardon and Parole Board's recommendation to commute Tremane Wood’s sentence to life without parole," the Republican governor said in a statement. "This action reflects the same punishment his brother received for their murder of an innocent young man and ensures a severe punishment that keeps a violent offender off the streets forever."
"In Oklahoma, we will continue to hold accountable those who commit violent crimes, delivering justice, safeguarding our communities, and respecting the rule of law," he continued.
Wood has spent over two decades on death row since the 2002 botched robbery in Oklahoma City that ended Ronnie Wipf's life. Both the victim's mother and survivor Arnold Kleinsasser opposed Wood's execution.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, at Wood's clemency hearing, his attorney, Amanda Bass Castro Alves, said that "the compassion and the mercy that the victims in this case have extended to Tremane, rooted in their life-affirming Christian values and in their recognition that we have all fallen short, is nothing short of transformative."
"Mrs. Wipf and Arnold are showing Tremane—and in fact, are showing all of us—that even when irreparable harm has been inflicted, there is a path forward beyond vengeance, a path forward that is instead paved by forgiveness, by compassion and by mercy," the lawyer added.
Stitt—who had faced mounting pressure to spare Wood—said Thursday that "I pray for the family of Ronnie Wipf and for the surviving victim, Arnie; they are models of Christian forgiveness and love."
The governor's decision came after the US Supreme Court declined to halt Wood's execution. Since taking office, Stitt has granted clemency in a death penalty case only one other time: In 2021, he reduced Julius Jones' sentence to life without parole amid concerns that he may be innocent.
The Julius Jones Institute celebrated Stitt's move in a social media post with allied groups, writing that "God moved, and Tremane will not be executed. His sentence has been changed to life without parole! Thank you to everyone who stood with him every call, every email, every share, every prayer. You showed up, and it mattered."
"Our heart is with Tremane and his family as they finally exhale after these heavy weeks. My heart is also with Ronnie Wipf’s mother, who showed courage and compassion in believing Tremane should live," the post continues. "This is a moment filled with relief, gratitude, and deep emotion. And as we hold space for Tremane’s family, we also continue standing in faith for Julius."
The Julius Jones Institute still intends to hold a prayer vigil at 6:00 pm local time on Thursday at OKE City Community Church.
"I'm so, so grateful for everyone who fought so hard and diligently to save my son," Wood’s mother, Linda Wood, told HuffPost. "For the first time in months, I'm able to breathe."
Death Penalty Action said that "Gov. Stitt waited until the very last moment—absolutely torturous for all involved—but we are grateful for this decision. Tremane LIVES. Sending our love to all involved and those who know and love him."
Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform thanked the Pardon and Parole Board for "its rigorous review and moral clarity in recommending clemency," as well as the governor. The group's executive director, Mike Shelton, said that Stitt "took the time to carefully consider the troubling questions surrounding this case."
"Today, Oklahoma got it right, not just because of a single decision, but because thousands of community members made their voices heard," Shelton added. "Their collective courage and engagement were instrumental in bringing attention to the need for justice."
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