L.A. Minimum Wage Above $15? And the “Mis-Speakers” continue with their not quite right concept of raising the California minimum wage to $13.75. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti received a motion Tuesday to raise the minimum wage in 2017 and another $2.00 by 2019. In a non-public event in the Media Room of city hall, four councilmembers, Mike Bonin, Gilberto Cedillo, Nury Martinez and Curren Price presented a motion to the Council and City Atty. Mike Feuer to create an ordinance which would raise the minimum wage to $13.25 by July 1, 2017. It would be indexed annually to the rate of inflation. Garcetti had already proposed the wage increase last Labor Day and drew the ire of local business groups and the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce. A little later at an “by invitation only” gathering at the L.A. Baking Company in Lincoln Heights V.P. Joe Biden met with more city councilmen for a round-table discussion. No one in America should be working 40 hours a week and living below the poverty level -- no one, said Biden in his opening statements. An impressive array of dignitaries were there for the round-table discussion which included L.A. Councilmen Herb Wesson and Gil Cedillo, Congressman Xavier Becerra, Congresswoman Judy Chu, Congresswoman Janice Hahn, Congresswoman Grace Napolitano and Congresswoman Maxine Waters. The minimum wage motion which the council approved was then given to Feuer to deliver to the council’s economic development committee within the next 4 months. But that is not all it implies, the motion also calls out the need to study how the minimum wage could be raised to $15.25 per hour by 2019. The study is supposed to examine the economic consequences of raising the wage to this level. Local labor unions have been demanding an increase of the minimum wage to $15.00 to eliminate the “working poor” in California. Councilman Bonin called the measure “an anti-poverty program and a new approach to supporting local businesses.” The wage increase within the next 5 years is opposed by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. “This is a major economic decision and councilmembers should take the time to conduct a substantial and independent economic impact study,” said chamber Chief Executive Gary Toebben. “They should also reach out to businesses in their districts to collect real examples of how this minimum wage proposal would affect employment.” Last week, the Council passed an ordinance raising the minimum wage for workers at large hotels to $15.37 an hour; Garcetti has indicated he will sign that ordinance. Hotel industry groups have threatened legal action should he sign the measure. “When people don’t earn enough to pay for basic needs, they don’t have any money to spend in local businesses,” Bonin said. “When people earn a fair wage, they spend money locally, stimulating economic growth and creating jobs in the process.” “This pre-supposes that those workers directly receiving this increase are tax paying, legal residents of California” stated Arti S. a local entrepreneur. “I was at The Cheese Cake Factory last week and I noticed how they are compensating for the economic disaster we have now. The prices are the same, but the amount of food has been reduced.” In a brief survey of Sunland-Tujunga restaurants, it was found that many cost saving efforts have been instituted, not all to the liking of the local residents. Temple and Spring streets were temporarily blocked as the congressional and presidential entourage drove up to the Federal Building Wednesday morning to continue their behind locked doors deliberations possibly concerning the coming election(s). .
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 13:40:42 +0000
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