SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee is asking for an increase in the minimum wage for the city. Mayor Lee issued the following statement on Tuesday, December 10, “San Francisco is an expensive place for working families. I believe the time has come to bring an increase in the minimum wage to the voters, and I will support a ballot initiative in 2014 that significantly raises the minimum wage to help San Francisco’s lowest paid workers keep pace with rising consumer costs.
I will work closely with the Board of Supervisors, large and small businesses, other employers, non-profit organizations, labor partners, and those who represent working families to make sure we do this in a way that is fair, supports our businesses and boosts wages for working people. The national debate stirred by fast food chain employees across our country for a $15 per hour minimum wage is worth evaluating, and I will ask this group for a thoughtful analysis of how an increase in the rate will affect our economy, businesses and workers.
I know that a few more dollars an hour can make a big difference to working families, andSan Francisco should lead by example. Raising the minimum wage will not only help working families in San Francisco, but it will boost the local economy and drive consumer spending by putting money in the pockets of our lowest paid workers.”
The current wage forSan Franciscois $10.55 per hour, and is expected to rise 19 cents to $10.74 January 1, 2014. The Minimum Wage Ordinance which was passed by voters in 2003, calls for an increase based on the prior year’s Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose metropolitan region.
The current minimum wage for the state of California is $8.00 per hour, and its expected to rise to $9.00 per hour in July 2014 and to $10 per hour in January 2016. An increase in the minimum wage would have to be approved by San Francisco voters.
By LaDale Anderson
