Los Angeles County pushes $15 minimum wage for some workers

Los Angeles and Seattle are the only two cities that have passed laws that increase minimum wage for all workers to $15.

Cuomo appointed a wage board earlier this year that granted an increase to tipped workers who wait tables at restaurants, tend bar, and hold other jobs in which some of their income is dependent on tips.

California’s minimum wage will rise from $9 to $10 an hour starting January 1.

On July 1, 2022, the minimum wage will be increased annually and will be based on the average Consumer Price Index over the previous 20 years, according to the agenda.

“I think that this is a historic day for the county, and I’m proud to be a part of this movement”, agreed Supervisor Hilda Solis. While a minimum wage hike wouldn’t necessarily affect his business, he says it could in the future.

“I think it will put those businesses at a distinct disadvantage and people will now shop in town”, he said.

Today, hundreds of low wage workers and community members spoke in support of raising the minimum wage in unincorporated Los Angeles County.

The city and county should work together, he said, to “go back to what America has always stood for: That hard work should be rewarded”.

“This is only the first step because we need to raise the minimum wage”, he said. Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Mark Ridley-Thomas smiled broadly and raised their palms to the ceiling after the vote, to chants and cheers from the audience inside the auditorium at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.

He also suggested that some large businesses – such as Magic Mountain theme park – could be annexed into other cities to avoid paying the higher wages, costing the county tax dollars.

The board discussed the proposal last month, but postponed a vote due to concerns over a Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation report on the issue.

The county contract employees were given a slightly higher wage, $15.79 per hour by 2019.

While the board’s vote does not apply to incorporated cities like Santa Clarita, some said it could present problems for them.

A wage board empaneled by Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to recommend raising the minimum wage for the fast food industry Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti applauded the county’s move, saying, “The nation is watching what we do here in Los Angeles as a region”.

Los Angeles County on Tuesday became the latest area in the country to take a step toward lifting the minimum wage to $15 an hour after officials were told it would either kill business or help lift bread-winners out of poverty. At a rally in May he said: “It costs this state $700 million a year to subsidize the profits at McDonald’s and Burger King and that is wrong and that must stop”.