Agreement moves California closer to $15 minimum wage

Kali Persall,
Managing Editor

A tentative compromise between labor unions and legislators was reached on Saturday that will raise California’s minimum wage to $15, according to an article published by the Associated Press.

Sen. Mark Leno D-San Francisco told the Associated Press on Saturday that this will be presented to the legislature as a development of a similar bill that he authored that stalled in the assembly last year. Senate Bill 3 proposed to raise the minimum wage to $13 by 2017. The minimum wage in California is currently $10, one of the highest in the country, according to the Associated Press.

“My strong support for a statewide minimum wage that raises California families, women and children out of poverty is unshakeable,” Leno told the Sacramento Bee last year.

Leno clarified that the agreement has not yet been finalized, but the agreement would avoid taking the bill to the November ballot.

According to The Los Angeles Times, the wage would increase 50 cents in both 2017 and 2018 and continue to rise a dollar each year after, until reaching $15 in 2022. Leno has not yet publicly confirmed the specifics of the bill.

“This is an issue I’ve been working on for many years,” Leno told the Associated Press. “The governor and stakeholders have all been negotiating earnestly and in good faith for some time.”