San Jose Approves $15 Minimum Wage By 2019
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – Minimum wage workers in San Jose can expect to see their hourly rates goes up to $15 in 2019 under a plan approved Tuesday evening by the City Council, joining five other cities within the county in a regional effort.
In a unanimous vote, the Council approved raising the minimum wage in $1.50 increments starting with $12 on July 1, 2017, $13.50 on Jan. 1, 2018 and $15 on Jan. 1, 2019.
The city's current minimum wage of $10.30 was scheduled to increase by 10 cents in 2017. The City Council voted to further increase the amount to $10.50 in the new year, the same amount that the state's minimum law will be.
The Council also approved exempting the increase to seasonal job training and employment programs for disadvantaged. The raise could be delayed should the state enter a recession during the three-year build up.
The rate will be tied to the Bay Area Consumer Price Index after 2019 and annual increases will be capped at 5 percent.
Dozens of people spoke during Tuesday's meeting in support of raising the minimum wage, but differed on when the change should be implemented.
Low-wage workers and other community members called on the Council to set the minimum wage at a higher rate of $12 or more starting next year, highlighting the struggles they face in purchasing basic necessities.
Many business owners and nonprofit leaders spoke in support of the scheduled approved by the Council, which allows them more time to prepare for the increase.
The city's $15 minimum wage will be implemented three years ahead of the state, which will reach the same rate in 2022 under a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in April.
Mayor Sam Liccardo met with other mayors in the county last year to look into a regional increase on the minimum wage that aimed to make sure residents profited from the area's growing economy.
In June, the Cities Association of Santa Clara County studied the idea and proposed all cities pass a $15 minimum wage by 2019 through $1.50 annual increases starting in 2017.
San Jose will be joining Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Palo Alto and Cupertino as cities that have adopted a minimum wage of $15 that will begin in either 2018 or 2019, city economic development director Kim Walesh said.
The $15 minimum wage didn't move forward in Gilroy, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, Los Altos Hills and Monte Sereno, while Campbell, Saratoga, Milpitas and Santa Clara are still considering the change, Walesh said.
San Francisco's minimum wage is currently $13, as is that of Emeryville for firms with 55 or fewer employees. Emeryville businesses with 56 or more workers pay an hourly rate tied to the consumer price index, currently estimated at $14.82.
In San Jose, the increase will benefit 115,000 people who are at or just above the minimum wage and lead to an average pay increase of $3,000 per year, with some estimated to see an 18 percent increase over their current rate, Walesh said.
The city's minimum wage population is made up of 96 percent of adults over 20 years old and many are earning half of their household's income, according to Walesh.
"This action will benefit a lot of people in meaningful ways," she said.
"We also need to be sensitive that for some businesses this could cause them to struggle," Walesh said.
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