By Alexandra Mendoza
The voters have decided and, finally, more than 170,000 San Diego workers will get higher wages starting this month, thanks to the passing of Proposition I during the primary elections held this past Tuesday.
Once the results are verified, the City’s minimum wage will almost immediately increase from $10 to $10.50 an hour, and will then go to $11.50 on January 1 of next year. It will also provide five days of annual paid sick leave.
With this measure, workers will receive higher wages three years ahead of the recently approved State Minimum Wage Law, which is set to increase to $10.50 in January, 2017, to $11.00 in 2018, and then $1 an hour each year until it reaches $15 in 2022.
“We will no longer have to wait for a longer, more extended period for families to start seeing an improvement,” expressed Alor Calderon, Director of the Employee Rights Center in San Diego. “Of course, what we need is fifteen [dollars], we need more. A family of four needs more income in order to live. Although this is a significant step, it is not everything we need.”
The struggle to increase the minimum wage locally goes back two years, when Councilmember Todd Gloria’s initiative was passed by the San Diego City Council, but was then vetoed by Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who felt that the measure could negatively impact the local economy.
In the end, City Council voted to have the matter decided in the June primary ballot. The initiative was passed this week with 63 percent of votes, according to the San Diego Registrar of Voters.
Alor Calderon refuted arguments posed by detractors, such as the Mayor and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, who felt that the measure could have a negative impact on small businesses.
“In order to truly move San Diego’s economy forward, San Diegans have to be able to participate fully and significantly, and for that we need to help those who earn the least.”
A report by the Center on Policy Initiatives states that this initiative will help one in four San Diego workers, of whom 95 percent are 20 years of age or older, and 59 percent of whom are employed full time.
The study also indicates that San Diego’s cost of living has increased since the initiative was first put to a vote in City Council two years ago. For example, rent for a one-bedroom apartment has gone up 11 percent, and 12 percent for a two-bedroom apartment.
It is also estimated that nearly 40 percent of workers who would receive a wage increase are Latino.