Lawmakers and labor unions have already struck a tentative deal to boost the state-wide minimum wage to $10.50 an hour by next year, then $15 gradually. They are also forestalling a costly political campaign this fall and possibly putting California as the forerunner of the national movement.
According to The Guardian, a State Senator stated that California legislators and labor unions have reached a cautious agreement that will take the state's minimum wage from $10 to $15 an hour. So far, this is a move that would make for the largest state-wide minimum in the nation.
"This is not a done deal," Senator Mark Leno said on Saturday. The Senator added, "Everyone's been operating in good faith and we hope to get it through the legislature."
Leno claimed that if the deal will be finalized, it will go before the legislature as part of his minimum-wage bill that was held up last year. If the legislature decides to approve the minimum-wage proposal, it would avoid taking the issue to the ballot. A union-backed initiative has already been eligible for the ballot, and a competing measure is also trying to fit with the package.
"This is an issue I've been working on for many years," Leno claimed. He went on to say, "The governor and stakeholders have all been negotiating earnestly and in good faith for some time."
SFGATE reported that labor unions already qualified with the minimum-wage ballot initiative last week. This was after gathering the required 365,880 signatures.
The minimum-wage ballot initiative would increase California's minimum wage from the current $10 an hour up to $15 an hour for the next five years and "impose future increases with the inflation," as claimed by The Los Angeles Times. They would make efforts to increase about a dollar for the wage in most years. The backers of another initiative are also trying to collect signatures for the alternative, which would push the hourly minimum to $15 by July 15, 2020.
Rendon's email to Assembly Democrats mentioned that the tentative deal between Governor Jerry Brown's office, the labor unions, and the legislative leaders would boost the minimum to $15 in 2022. This would also give small businesses another year further to reach the $15 level.
Meanwhile, the added time is said to be enough to persuade state business leaders to sign on. Moreover, the lawmakers and labor unions insisted that the more aggressive minimum wage increase will also look like to pursue in November.
