Economics

Sen. Leno Proposes Minimum Wage Hike

Published

9 years ago

January 21, 2015

Senator Mark Leno has introduced legislation designed to help lift California’s low-wage earners out of poverty.

Senate Bill 3 – to raise the state’s minimum wage to $11 an hour in 2016 and $13 in 2017 – comes on the heels of the passage of minimum wage ballot measures in four politically conservative states, Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.

The bill is jointly authored by Senator Connie M. Leyva, D-Chino.

“Hard working, full-time employees across California are forced to live in poverty and rely on public assistance just to put food on the table for their families,” said Senator Leno, D-San Francisco.

Senator Mark Leno

“This income inequality crisis, which disproportionately impacts women and children, is detrimental to our communities and the economy,” he said. “It is time to accelerate the minimum wage and give low-income workers the respect they deserve for a job well done.”

California has the highest poverty rate in the nation. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that nearly a quarter of the state’s 38 million residents live in poverty.

An employee working full-time earning $9 an hour brings home just $18,000 annually before taxes, which is just 75 percent of the federal poverty line for a family of four.

As a result, many cities have taken the matter into their own hands, raising local minimum wages either by government action or at the ballot box. Voters in San Francisco recently approved a gradual minimum wage hike that tops out at $15 in 2018, while Oakland voters approved a $12.25 minimum wage.

In addition, the City of Los Angeles has approved a minimum hourly wage of $15.37 for its hotel workers.

“The cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco have led the way by raising the minimum wage for its workers and making sure their hard work is rewarded with fair pay,” said Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León, principal co-author of SB 3.

Research from the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at UC Berkeley indicates that higher wages reduce turnover and improve work performance and have no negative effect on the number of jobs available.

“Increasing the minimum wage as proposed by Senator Leno is long overdue,” said Michael Herald, legislative advocate with the Western Center on Law & Poverty. “Poverty is not just about income and wages. It is about ensuring that infant children get the nourishment and environment that will allow them to be self-sufficient as adults. Research shows that children who go hungry or homeless are more likely to go to jail, less likely to graduate and will earn less as adults.”

Women are also especially impacted by the minimum wage. About six in 10 minimum wage workers in California are women, according to the National Women’s Law Center.

“Raising the minimum wage in California is a women’s issue,” said Surina Khan, CEO of the Women’s Foundation of California, which supports the bill.

“Women, and in particular single mothers, hold a disproportionate share of minimum wage jobs and disproportionately live in poverty: sixty-four percent of minimum wage workers are women and of these, 60 percent are supporting families. SB 3 increases California’s current minimum wage of $9 per hour in two steps, to $11 in 2016 and $13 in 2017. Beginning in 2019, the minimum wage would be adjusted annually to the rate of inflation.

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Related Topics:California minimum wage increase Senate Bill 3 Senator Connie M. Leyva Senator Mark Leno state politics

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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April 26, 2024

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Business

Black Business Summit Focuses on Equity, Access and Data

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship. Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Published

6 days ago

April 20, 2024

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Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA), answers questions from concerned entrepreneurs frustrated with a lack of follow-up from the state. January 24, 2024 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, Lost Angeles, Calif. Photo by Solomon O. Smith

By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship.

Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) was a guest at the event. He told attendees about his department’s efforts to increase access for Black business owners.

“One thing I’m taking away from this for sure is we’re going to have to do a better job of connecting through your chambers of all these opportunities of billions of dollars that are coming down the pike. I’m honestly disappointed that people don’t know, so we’ll do better,” said Omishakin.

Lueathel Seawood, the president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of San Joaquin County, expressed frustration with obtaining federal contracts for small businesses, and completing the process. She observed that once a small business was certified as DBE, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, there was little help getting to the next step.

Omishakin admitted there is more work to be done to help them complete the process and include them in upcoming projects. However, the high-speed rail system expansion by the California High-Speed Rail Authority has set a goal of 30% participation from small businesses — only 10 percent is set aside for DBE.

The importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in economics was reinforced during the “State of the California Economy” talk led by author and economist Julianne Malveaux, and Anthony Asadullah Samad, Executive Director of the Mervyn Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute (MDAAPEI) at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Assaults on DEI disproportionately affect women of color and Black women, according to Malveaux. When asked what role the loss of DEI might serve in economics, she suggested a more sinister purpose.

“The genesis of all this is anti-blackness. So, your question about how this fits into the economy is economic exclusion, that essentially has been promoted as public policy,” said Malveaux.

The most anticipated speaker at the event was Janice Bryant Howroyd known affectionately to her peers as “JBH.” She is one of the first Black women to run and own a multi-billion-dollar company. Her company ActOne Group, is one of the largest, and most recognized, hiring, staffing and human resources firms in the world. She is the author of “Acting Up” and has a profile on Forbes.

Chairman of the board of directors of the California African American Chamber of Commerce, Timothy Alan Simon, a lawyer and the first Black Appointments Secretary in the Office of the Governor of California, moderated. They discussed the state of Black entrepreneurship in the country and Howroyd gave advice to other business owners.

“We look to inspire and educate,” said Howroyd. “Inspiration is great but when I’ve got people’s attention, I want to teach them something.”