Story and photo by Miriam Raftery

June 8, 2016 (San Diego) – By a resounding 63% to 37% margin, voters in the city of San Diego approved raising the minimum wage.  The ballot initiative also mandates 40 hours of paid sick leave a year for full-time workers.

Update March 31:  Both houses osf the Legislature have passed this measure, which is now on the Governor's desk for signature and is expected to be signed into law.

East County News Service

March 29, 2016 (Sacramento) -- A deal hammered out by labor leaders and Governor Jerry Brown would raise California’s minimum wage to $15 an hour without the need for a ballot initiative, if it is approved by the Legislature.

Under the agreement, most businesses would phase in the increase in wages gradually over several years, starting at $10.50 in January 2017, $11 in January 2018, then rising $1 a year until January 2022, when it would reach $15 an hour.  Businesses with less than 25 workers would have an extra year to meet the new wage requirements. (View full details here.)

East County News Service

February 8, 2016 (San Diego) – Voters in the city of San Diego will decide in November whether the minimum wage should be raised for all workers within the city limits.

August 24, 2014 (San Diego)—Last week, San Diego’s City Council voted to over-ride the mayor’s veto of a minimum wage increase.  That means the increase will take effect, giving raises to low-wage workers throughout the city as well as sick days to all workers citywide.

Measure could have ripple effect across region, including East County

By Miriam Raftery

April 27, 2014 (San Diego) –San Diego is the fifth most expensive city in America to live in, according to the New York Times, which reports it takes 41.4% of gross income on average just to pay rent in San Diego.  An estimated 200,000 people in the city of San Diego earn minimum wage and about 300,000 households in  our region have incomes too low to meet basic expenses, according to the Center on Poilcy Initiatives.

Aiming to help those who are struggling to make ends meet, Councilman Todd Gloria is asking the City Council to approve a ballot initiative that would raise the minimum wage.  If approved by voters in November, the measure would raise the minimum wage citywide to $11.09 an hour in July 2015, $12.09 in July 2016 and $13.09 in July 2017, with cost of living increases after that.  The measure would boost incomes by 30 percent for the lowest  paid workers. It would also require employers to provide five paid sick days to workers.