California Lawmakers and labor unions are expected to make a formal announcement on a tentative deal to raise the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour gradually by 2023.
While the state's current minimum wage - $10 an hour - ranks among the highest in the country, the statewide increase would represent a historic victory for labor unions and advocates. The deal would involve gradual increases, raising the hourly minimum wage by 50 cents in 2017 and 2018 and then by $1 through 2022. Businesses with fewer than 25 employees would have an extra year to comply, delaying their workers receiving a $15 hourly wage until 2023, The Los Angeles Times reports.
Gov. Jerry Brown's administration has told leaders in the Democratic-controlled state Legislature he supports boosting the state's minimum wage. The wage compromise ends a long debate between the Democratic governor and some of the state's most powerful labor unions. For Brown, it's political pragmatism; numerous statewide polls have suggested voters would approve a minimum wage proposal - perhaps even a more sweeping version - if given the chance.
State Senator Mark Leno, (D-San Francisco), told The Associated Press that, if approved, the deal will "go before the Legislature as part of his minimum-wage bill that stalled last year."
"This is not a done deal," Leno cautioned, adding that "everyone's been operating in good faith."
Until now, efforts had largely been focused on the local level. Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco have all opted to phase in $15-an-hour minimum wages in coming years.
States appear to be the next battleground. Lawmakers in New York are in advanced discussions to bring that state's minimum wage to $15 an hour, from $9 now. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, is trying to include a vote in the Legislature on the measure as part of the state's budget, due April 1, although details are still under negotiations.
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