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Los Angeles Mayor Proposes $13.25 Hourly Minimum Wage

Mayor Of Major City Proposes $13.25 Hourly Minimum Wage
Reuters

Sept 1 (Reuters) - The hourly minimum wage in California's most populous city would gradually increase to $13.25 from $9 under a proposal announced on Monday by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Los Angeles is the latest of dozens of U.S cities looking to adopt so-called living wage ordinances, with similar efforts recently in San Francisco and Seattle.

"I'm proposing to responsibly and gradually raise the minimum wage in L.A. to $13.25 because it's deplorable and bad for our economy to have one million Angelenos stuck in poverty, even when working full-time," Garcetti said in a statement.

The proposed wage hike would be phased in, starting at $10.25 in 2015 and moving to $13.25 by 2017, Garcetti said.

Members of the city's business community have spoken out against the measure in recent days, saying a wage hike could hurt small-business owners and nonprofits.

Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce President Gary Toebben told local media that he feared business owners would be unable to maintain their current levels of employment if forced to pay the proposed hourly rate.

The statewide hourly minimum wage rose earlier this month to $9 from $8 and is scheduled to climb to $10 next July.

California is one of 21 states with a higher minimum wage than the federal level of $7.25 an hour. (Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Before You Go

An extra £1.34 an hour could buy you a whole bag of apples
PA
Many different supermarkets sell apples for this price or less. And it's a great way to spend the money, seeing as poor children are often priced out of a healthy meal.
An extra £10.72 a day could buy colouring pens and pencils
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It could help families like Vicky's - she told Save the Children last month that colouring pencils and paper were a luxury her family could ill-afford, even though her son loves art.
Or buy a roast dinner for the family
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It is possible - here's Hear'say's Suzanne Shaw to show you how. And it's more important than ever, with research showing more than 20 per cent of British families sits down for a family meal only once or twice a week.
Or take the family swimming
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A third of children cannot swim even a short distance of 25 metres by the time they leave school, and this extra money to cover the cost to get them in the water and get learning.
An extra £53.60 a week could buy a council gym membership for a month
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Three quarters of men in Britain will be overweight or obese by 2030, according to the UK Heart Forum. But gym memberships can be prohibitively expensive.
An extra £214.20 over a month could buy a bike to get to work
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You don't have to spend a fortune, there's a whole range of bikes under £200 And it saves money on petrol.
Or buy a new school uniform
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Buying a school uniform can be a nightmare for parents with the average cost of a uniform for secondary school pupils is £285 and £156 for primary school children. The Local Government Association has warned that, with the status quo, parents are being forced to borrow money from friends or go into debt to pay for uniforms.
An extra £428.40 over two months could buy a family holiday in France
It won't buy anything luxurious, but every family deserves a little time together in the sun, even if it needs to cost under £500. And holidays inspire disadvantaged children to learn more, according to research from Nottingham University.
Or cover the average rise in rent
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The average deposit for renting a flat has risen 50% since 2007, and is now £900. Yet over the same period, average earnings in the UK have grown from just £457.60 to £517.50 a week, with almost no real growth once inflation is taken into account. This extra money would mean families could more ablely afford the eye-watering amounts they have to pay in deposits.
An extra £1285.20 over six months could mean a family is able to start saving money
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According to the Labour party, the economic crisis has meant that the average family will be worse off by £974 a year by the time of next year's election. With this rise in pay, families could mitigate the effects of the recession, and perhaps begin to save.
An extra £2570.40 over a year could buy a family a secondhand car
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There's plenty of cars on the secondhand market for this price.
Or start your child saving for university
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You can put up to £3,600 a year into Junior Isas for those aged 17 or under, tax-free.
But if you want to buy a house..
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It will take 12 years to save for an average deposit - which is £31,000. In the North it would take only six years because the average deposit is £15,862. In London, it would take almost 22 years to save the average deposit of £56,183.
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