L.A.'s Minimum Wage to Increase to $13.25 an Hour Under Garcetti Plan

[applegrove]

L.A.'s Minimum Wage to Increase to $13.25 an Hour Under Garcetti Plan

By Gene Maddaus at LA Weekly

http://www.laweekly.com/informer/2014/08/26/las-minimum-wage-to-increase-to-1350-an-hour-under-garcetti-plan

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Garcetti wants to increase the citywide minimum wage in three increments, reaching $13.25 an hour by 2017. After that, the wage would be indexed to inflation.

The plan marks an abrupt shift in focus for the Garcetti administration, which up until now has emphasized business-friendly initiatives like expanding the film tax incentive and lowering the city's business tax. Business leaders reacted to the shift with dismay.

"I'm stunned," said Stuart Waldman, chair of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association. "He knows as well as anyone that this city needs jobs. Introducing this measure will have a chilling effect on anyone considering opening a business in Los Angeles, and it will probably also push a lot of people out of Los Angeles."

The L.A. County Federation of Labor has been pushing for an increase to the minimum wage for downtown hotel workers to $15 per hour. But some progressive activists have expressed concern that that proposal was too narrowly focused on one industry.




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