NOVEMBER 2024 VOTER GUIDE
YES ON PROP 32
$18 Minimum Wage Initiative
ENDORSE-O-METER SAYS: YES
The current minimum wage in California is $16 an hour and adjusts for inflation. Proposition 32 will ask California voters if the statewide minimum wage should be increased to $18 an hour. The new proposal would increase pay gradually depending on how many employees a company has, with all workers in the state set to make $18 an hour by 2026. While raising the minimum wage has a chance of increasing the cost of doing business and thus the overall cost of living, this attempt to alleviate workers’ experience of income inequality and rising inflation sets a good example for corporations, who should be doing more to ensure workers make a living on which they can support themselves and their families. We’re voting yes on Prop 32 because working people deserve to earn a living wage.
The Context
The statewide minimum wage has not been changed in nearly a decade. Governor Jerry Brown signed a law in 2016 to boost it to $15 an hour and to automatically adjust it for inflation. That made California’s minimum wage one of the highest in the country, and more than twice as much as the federal requirement. But many workers are still struggling with a skyrocketing cost of living. While the current minimum wage earns the average worker about $33,000 a year, the average cost of living is significantly higher than that at $53,082 a year.
This push to increase the minimum wage comes amid several other changes to minimum-wage laws in the state. Last year, unions secured $25 an hour for healthcare workers and $20 an hour for fast-food workers. Several cities including West Hollywood, Berkeley and San Francisco have moved ahead of the state minimum and already pay more than $18 an hour. And San Francisco’s minimum wage is currently $18.67 an hour, so this measure brings the rest of the state up to speed with us.
Support & Opposition
The top supporter is entrepreneur and investor Joseph Sanberg, who contributed nearly $10.9 million. Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León has formed a committee in support of this measure, Prop 3, and Prop 33. His $600,000 contribution is included in all three.
The opposing contributions have come from the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Restaurant Assn. and the California Grocers Assn.
Other Organizations That Share Our Endorsement: San Francisco Chronicle.
Paid for by TogetherSF Action. Not authorized by any candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.