The new $6.55 per hour federal minimum wage, which takes effect today, could help people adjust to rising food and fuel prices.

But Muskogee restaurant owners, who hire mostly minimum wage workers, say it also could force them to raise their prices even more.

“We can’t afford it, unless they want a $5 hot dog,” said Dione Teehee, who owns the two Chet’s hot dog stands in Muskogee.

The federal minimum wage rises from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour today and is to raise to $7.25 per hour July 24, 2009. The wage rose to $5.85 in July 2007.

Congressman Dan Boren, D-Oklahoma, applauded the wage increase.

“Raising the minimum wage will strengthen the economy for all Americans, but most importantly, it will assist the hard-working Oklahomans who have been hit hardest by the economic downturn,” he said in a media release. “I was pleased that the legislation also included important small business tax provisions to help offset any increased cost to Oklahoma employers.”

Quoting the Economic Policy Institute, the media release issued by Boren’s office, said that once fully implemented, the wage increase will benefit 12.4 million workers across the country and 113,000 in Oklahoma. 

About 2,700 Muskogee area residents work in food services, averaging about $7.17 an hour, said Marie Seabolt, director of marketing and research for Muskogee Development Corp. She said food services are Muskogee’s lowest-paid workforce.

“The minimum wage increase will affect restaurants and retail, which typically employ teenagers,” she said. “One good thing about Muskogee’s condition is that the cost of living has actually decreased in the past year. With the increase of minimum wage, they can afford to buy more.”

Teehee said 12 of the 15 people who work for the two Chet’s stands are minimum-wage workers. One is her son, Cole Teehee.

Cole worked the west Muskogee stand on Wednesday. He said he relies mostly on tips to pay for his gas.

Cole’s co-worker, Alison Renfro, said she does not drive yet and has worked at Chet’s for about three months. She said she feels satisfied with what she gets paid.

Dione Teehee said last year’s minimum wage increase prompted her parents to close the Chet’s stand in Wagoner last March.

“Their volume wasn’t as much as ours,” she said.