April 01–SACRAMENTO — In votes that drew cheers from low-wage workers inside and outside the state Capitol on Thursday, Democrats swiftly pushed a bill through the Legislature to raise the state minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022.
Almost immediately, Gov. Jerry Brown announced he would sign it at a ceremony Monday in Los Angeles. The bill, SB3 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, drew opposition from Republicans — not one of whom voted for it in the Senate or Assembly — and business-group leaders who said it will force job cuts and higher prices for consumers.
"To suggest somehow we are going to hurt the very people we plan to help, I want to remind you where the 'Fight for 15' came from. It came from those workers," said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego. "I have not found one (person) who says, 'Please, just keep my wages low; I like to show up at the county offices every month to get a handout from the government.' That is not what workers want or what they deserve."
The legislative action coincided with the Cesar Chavez state holiday, and lawmakers paid tribute to the labor leader just before they voted.
The highest state minimum wage in the nation is Washington, D.C.'s — at $10.50 an hour — and California is expected to surpass it with SB3.
The more-moderate Assembly passed the bill in a 48-26 vote. Three Democrats voted against the bill or abstained, with those members facing tough re-election fights in Republican-heavy districts or representing the economically hard-hit Central Valley. In the Senate, the bill passed 26-12 along party lines.
Dozens of low-wage workers crowded into and around the statehouse and celebrated the bill's passage.
"I had to go steal me a roll of toilet paper just now, because I'm broke," said Jodi Simpson of Sacramento, who works as a maid at a hotel for minimum wage. "After I pay my bills, on a good month, I have $100 left: That's toilet paper, toothpaste and soap. … That $15 is a boost up. It won't cure everything, but at least I can sleep a little more instead of having to work so much and stress."
Republicans and some Democrats criticized Brown and legislative leaders for rushing the bill, which many lawmakers first heard about over the weekend when news broke about a deal between labor leaders and legislative leaders. On Monday, Brown, labor leaders and leading lawmakers officially announced the deal to adopt the law in order to keep labor's more aggressive measure to increase wages from appearing on the November ballot.
That ballot initiative, sponsored by Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers West, sought to increase the minimum wage to $15 a year by 2021, a year earlier than SB3.
"There are people that have to pay these wages that are barely hanging on as it is," said Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, who voted in favor of the bill despite voicing reservations. "Our economy in my district is just starting to pick up."
Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove (Sacramento County), said the vote was difficult for many Democrats, despite passing with seven votes to spare in the Assembly.
"The majority of people believe there should be some kind of minimum-wage increase," said Cooper, who leads the moderate Democratic caucus. "The issue was with process, which was flawed."
Republican lawmakers cautioned that the bill would hurt workers.
"That college student who is using that part-time job to go to Yuba College in my district to try to get some more skills so they can go on to the next level — that job is going to disappear," said Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Plumas Lake (Yuba County).
Democratic Assemblymen Tom Daly of Anaheim and Adam Gray of Merced voted against the bill, while Rudy Salas of Bakersfield abstained. Gray said the bill needed more careful vetting to ensure that the state has the money to pay for the wage increases for its own employees. He said with temporary taxes under Prop. 30 set to expire, he didn't want to add to the state's budget problems.
"You know, $15 an hour is not the same in San Francisco as it is in Merced," Gray said. "I would argue in San Francisco it's not high enough and in Merced it may be too high. As far as regional economies, this bill made no effort to address that."
SB3 will increase the minimum wage to $10.50 an hour in 2017 and $11 in 2018; then it will go up an additional $1 an hour every year until reaching $15 in 2022. After that, it will be tied to the Consumer Price Index and rise up to 3.5 percent each year.
Small businesses with 25 or fewer employees have an extra year, until 2023, to reach the $15 wage level.
Brown said the wage increase his office helped negotiate includes an "off-ramp" that was critical to winning his support. That clause allows the governor to put wage hikes on hold if there is an economic downturn.
Brown has warned of an impending recession, and under SB3, the governor can stop a scheduled wage increase if his Department of Finance forecasters predict job losses, falling retail sales or a budget deficit of more than 1 percent of annual revenue. The governor would have to act by Sept. 1 of a given year to delay an increase to the minimum wage for the following year.
Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez
