SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Striking McDonald's restaurant employees lock arms in an intersection before being arrested, after walking off the job to demand to demand a $15 per hour wage and union rights during nationwide 'Fight for $15 Day of Disruption' protests on November 29, 2016 in Los Angeles. (Photo: David McNew/Getty Images)
'Big News': Over 1 Million Signatures Gathered to Put $18 Min. Wage on California Ballot
"Raising the minimum wage in the Golden State is a moral imperative," says anti-poverty activist Joe Sanberg.
May 12, 2022
Advocates pushing to raise California's minimum wage to $18 an hour heralded a key development Thursday as they began submitting more than one million signatures to get the Living Wage Act on the November ballot, easily surpassing the roughly 623,000 required.
"We're going to set a new bar for working people all over the country."
"California Voters have been clear: people working full time should be able to afford life's basic needs," said anti-poverty activist Joe Sanberg, who filed the ballot initiative, in a statement.
The state's current minimum wage for employers, $15 an hour, was implemented just this year, though the wage drops to $14 an hour for companies with fewer than 26 employees.
Sanberg says the wage floor is clearly insufficient.
"Californians simply cannot afford to support a family on the current minimum wage--which amounts to just $32,000 a year for someone working full-time," he said. "Raising the minimum wage in the Golden State is a moral imperative."
If the Living Wage Act passes in November, it would increase the minimum wage incrementally, boosting it $1 per year until reaching $18 on January 1, 2025 for employers with 26 or more workers. Employers with fewer workers have an additional year to hit that minimum wage.
Thereafter, the minimum wage for all employees would also increase over time to keep pace with inflation and the cost of living.
Sanberg estimates that wage increase could mean an additional $6,420 per year for more than 5 million workers.
Beyond organizational backers like the California Faculty Association, Unite Here Local 11, and SEIU Local 87, the proposal appears to have strong public support.
Supporters of the ballot initiative point to a survey conducted last month of 1,200 likely voters in the state showing 76% in favor of raising the wage.
"Raising the minimum wage," said California Labor Federation executive secretary-treasurer Art Pulaski, "is one of the strongest anti-poverty measures we have as a state."
"For low-wage workers, a higher minimum wage is life-changing," he said. "Better wages for workers also means they have more to spend at local businesses in our communities. If we're serious about combating poverty and reducing inequality, raising the minimum wage is an absolute necessity."
According to Sanberg, successful passage of the initiative could reverberate nationwide.
"Not only are we going to give 6M+ California workers a raise," he tweeted Thursday, "we're going to set a new bar for working people all over the country."
This article has been updated to correct Sanberg's reference of the Golden, not Gold, State.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Advocates pushing to raise California's minimum wage to $18 an hour heralded a key development Thursday as they began submitting more than one million signatures to get the Living Wage Act on the November ballot, easily surpassing the roughly 623,000 required.
"We're going to set a new bar for working people all over the country."
"California Voters have been clear: people working full time should be able to afford life's basic needs," said anti-poverty activist Joe Sanberg, who filed the ballot initiative, in a statement.
The state's current minimum wage for employers, $15 an hour, was implemented just this year, though the wage drops to $14 an hour for companies with fewer than 26 employees.
Sanberg says the wage floor is clearly insufficient.
"Californians simply cannot afford to support a family on the current minimum wage--which amounts to just $32,000 a year for someone working full-time," he said. "Raising the minimum wage in the Golden State is a moral imperative."
If the Living Wage Act passes in November, it would increase the minimum wage incrementally, boosting it $1 per year until reaching $18 on January 1, 2025 for employers with 26 or more workers. Employers with fewer workers have an additional year to hit that minimum wage.
Thereafter, the minimum wage for all employees would also increase over time to keep pace with inflation and the cost of living.
Sanberg estimates that wage increase could mean an additional $6,420 per year for more than 5 million workers.
Beyond organizational backers like the California Faculty Association, Unite Here Local 11, and SEIU Local 87, the proposal appears to have strong public support.
Supporters of the ballot initiative point to a survey conducted last month of 1,200 likely voters in the state showing 76% in favor of raising the wage.
"Raising the minimum wage," said California Labor Federation executive secretary-treasurer Art Pulaski, "is one of the strongest anti-poverty measures we have as a state."
"For low-wage workers, a higher minimum wage is life-changing," he said. "Better wages for workers also means they have more to spend at local businesses in our communities. If we're serious about combating poverty and reducing inequality, raising the minimum wage is an absolute necessity."
According to Sanberg, successful passage of the initiative could reverberate nationwide.
"Not only are we going to give 6M+ California workers a raise," he tweeted Thursday, "we're going to set a new bar for working people all over the country."
This article has been updated to correct Sanberg's reference of the Golden, not Gold, State.
Advocates pushing to raise California's minimum wage to $18 an hour heralded a key development Thursday as they began submitting more than one million signatures to get the Living Wage Act on the November ballot, easily surpassing the roughly 623,000 required.
"We're going to set a new bar for working people all over the country."
"California Voters have been clear: people working full time should be able to afford life's basic needs," said anti-poverty activist Joe Sanberg, who filed the ballot initiative, in a statement.
The state's current minimum wage for employers, $15 an hour, was implemented just this year, though the wage drops to $14 an hour for companies with fewer than 26 employees.
Sanberg says the wage floor is clearly insufficient.
"Californians simply cannot afford to support a family on the current minimum wage--which amounts to just $32,000 a year for someone working full-time," he said. "Raising the minimum wage in the Golden State is a moral imperative."
If the Living Wage Act passes in November, it would increase the minimum wage incrementally, boosting it $1 per year until reaching $18 on January 1, 2025 for employers with 26 or more workers. Employers with fewer workers have an additional year to hit that minimum wage.
Thereafter, the minimum wage for all employees would also increase over time to keep pace with inflation and the cost of living.
Sanberg estimates that wage increase could mean an additional $6,420 per year for more than 5 million workers.
Beyond organizational backers like the California Faculty Association, Unite Here Local 11, and SEIU Local 87, the proposal appears to have strong public support.
Supporters of the ballot initiative point to a survey conducted last month of 1,200 likely voters in the state showing 76% in favor of raising the wage.
"Raising the minimum wage," said California Labor Federation executive secretary-treasurer Art Pulaski, "is one of the strongest anti-poverty measures we have as a state."
"For low-wage workers, a higher minimum wage is life-changing," he said. "Better wages for workers also means they have more to spend at local businesses in our communities. If we're serious about combating poverty and reducing inequality, raising the minimum wage is an absolute necessity."
According to Sanberg, successful passage of the initiative could reverberate nationwide.
"Not only are we going to give 6M+ California workers a raise," he tweeted Thursday, "we're going to set a new bar for working people all over the country."
This article has been updated to correct Sanberg's reference of the Golden, not Gold, State.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.