Minimumwage hikes gain ground on coasts
$15-an-hour levels near at NYC food chains and California universities
San Francisco— The push for a higher minimum wage gained momentum on both sides of the country Wednesday, with a New York labor board endorsing an eventual $15 an hour for the state’s 150,000 fast-food workers and the huge University of California system announcing the same raise for its employees.
“How we support our workers and their families impacts Californians who might never set foot on one of our campuses,” said UC President Janet Napolitano, who oversees 10 campuses, including UCLA and Berkley. “It’s the right thing to do.”
The twin moves follow similar steps by local governments and employers to give workers something close to what labor activists call a “living wage.”
Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley have all approved phased-in increases that eventually will take their minimum wage to $15 an hour, or about $31,200 for a full-time job. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous county, voted to craft a law to raise the minimum to $15 over five years.
In New York, the stateWage Board endorsed a proposal to set a $15 minimum wage for workers at fast-food restaurants with 30 or more locations. The increase would be phased in over three years in New York City and over six years elsewhere.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose administration must approve the idea, has signaled his support. New York would become the first state to take such a step for a specific industry. The state minimum wage is now $8.75 an hour and is set to rise to $9 at year’s end.
Many workers say the increase would allow them to cope with the high cost of living, though restaurant owners say it will lead to higher prices and fewer jobs.
At the University of California, UC’s hourlywage earners— a group that includes students and full-time employees working in dining halls, dorms and bookstores or as gardeners, housekeepers and custodians at campuses and hospitals — currently make the state minimum of $9 an hour.