Los Angeles County takes step toward $15 minimum wage

The city of West Hollywood is already moving to raise its minimum wage, but that’s a small city with relatively little impact. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected to take a preliminary step Tuesday, July 21, 2015, that could lead to the higher wages. “Yet today gave me hope because increasing the wage would allow me to provide my family a better standard of living”. “I thought they could do a lot of the homework, quite frankly, so we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel”.

“This is only the first step”, he said. And Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek said his City Council will begin discussions next week on a process to study their own wage increase.

He also said he wanted information about the effects of a wage increase on businesses that will be operating across the street from others without the same salary requirements.

Boe, who runs a small architecture firm, said he could not support the proposal.

Brandon Spencer, owner of Papa Tino’s Pizzeria in Watertown, said people who want the raise do not understand the heavy burden it will put on small businesses, even to the point of forcing some to close. “As someone said early on, when you create a business, for me, it’s an extension of my values. It is disconcerting to have a political body tell you what my values should be”.

The rumors of a minimum wage hike in New York have left many franchisees concerned that they will be let go as a result. And he said businesses in the adjoining unincorporated areas have been inquiring about annexing into the city. Wages would rise by $1.7 billion, representing an average raise of more than 40 percent. However, Mr. Spencer said, a job flipping burgers with a $15-per-hour base pay might be more attractive. We have a stagnant economy. An example is, Clinton embraced the Trans-Pacific Partnership as Secretary of State but distanced from it after becoming a Presidential candidate, saying she would support only if TPP meets high standards for workers and environment. That affects our rents. Though he was careful never to explicitly direct the three-member body on the $15-an-hour target, it was quite clear that’s what Cuomo was aiming for.

Each UC campus must follow federal, state and local minimum wage provisions, according to the policy. By the end of this year, it will be $9. Currently, about three-quarters of his employees are paid less than $11.

An increase to $15 would mean considerable savings in public assistance spending as well as increased payroll and individual income taxes. “We could not exist on that basis”, he said. Like the city increase, Kuehl’s proposal would delay the increase by one year for businesses with fewer than 26 employees. It is just not possible to live on the current minimum wage – especially not in high cost areas of the state. On Wednesday, we expect that a State Wage Board will make its recommendation for a new minimum wage in the fast food sector. “There’s no way we can increase profit through private payers”.

Though the Senate GOP appears dug in on this issue at the moment, much to the relief of its business community allies, there is precedent for an election-year turnaround.