Demonstrators in downtown Los Angeles in October supporting the $15 hourly minimum wage proposal.
Nick Ut / AP
Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday paved the way for
raising the minimum wage in the nation’s second-largest city to $15 an hour by
2020, representing a huge victory for those trying to boost the lower end of
the payscale in their fight against poverty.
Under the tentative proposal approved by all but one of the
15 City Council members, the current hourly minimum wage of $9 will climb to $10.50 in July 2016, and from there steadily rise over time to $15 by July 2020. After that, wage increases will be tied to the consumer price index.
Many City Council members hailed the wage increase as
watershed moment in the fight against poverty in L.A. Sn estimated
800,000 workers are expected to see their pay increase.
"Make no mistake…today the city of Los Angeles
— the second largest city in the nation — is leading our nation by raising the
minimum wage to over $15 an hour,” Councilman Paul Krekorian said. "This
is a reason to celebrate.”
With the mayor expected to sign the final version later this year, Los Angeles
is set to become the latest major U.S. city to boost the minimum wage far above
state benchmarks. The federal minimum wage, meanwhile, remains at $7.25 and
hour. In California, it's $9 an hour.
Seattle, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York City — and soon, Los Angeles — have now enacted laws to bring the minimum wage up to $15 and hour, despite fears from the small business lobby that the burden will be too much for some owners and force mass layoffs.
Ruben Gonzalez, senior vice president for public policy and political affairs for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, warned that the wage schedule would be too much for many smaller businesses to absorb.
L.A. businesses with 25 employees are fewer will have until until 2021 to reach the $15-an-hour mark.
Still, Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, told City Council that a yearlong delay in implementing the wage increase offered little to no relief.
"A one-year delay does not help anyone," he said.
The City Council asked economic development officials to study sick days and paid leave additions as amendments to the wage ordinance, among other last minute proposals.
But the political its momentum for the increase was forged over months of community meetings, hearings, and demonstrations that were heavily attended by labor unions and other anti-poverty advocates who argued that L.A.’s high cost of living had far outstripped the ability of thousands of low-income workers to live a decent life.
L.A. County is also considering its own minimum wage hike.
"The soul of Los Angeles are its workers,” said Laphonza Butler, president SEIU/United Long Term Workers, one of the largest unions in California. "By you acting today, you say to other cities, you say to the county, that every worker deserves to have $15 an hour, every worker deserves to have a sick day, every worker deserves to have their wages enforced.”
Still, council members acknowledged there were still some significant unknowns in terms of how L.A. will ultimately be affected. More than 50% of the workers who are to benefit from the wage increase live outside the city’s limits, officials noted.
“We’re doing this because we have to bring people out of poverty, but we have to make sure we do this right, so we don’t put people in poverty,” Councilman Paul Kortez said.
He added: “If anyone thinks they can tell you where this is all going to go…I don’t think they’re being honest with you.”
Some opponents of the ordinance said the City Council should fight poverty by pushing for more affordable housing instead burdening business owners.
Some on the City Council agreed that there was still more to do, particularly regarding L.A.’s high housing costs. Others acknowledged the challenges some small businesses would have in absorbing the additional costs — particularly full service restaurants, an industry that already survives on razor-thin profit margins.
“There are risks involved…with respect to how fast we go,” Councilman Gil Cedillo said. “No job, doesn’t work. It’s that simple.”
Still, the vast majority of the City Council, including Cedillo, said the wage increase was long overdue.
Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Councilman Mike Bonin said, “is the very least we can do.”
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1LiLKJ7
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