Los Angeles has set a precedent in Southern California by approving higher minimum wages – $15 per hour over the next five years with the City Council approving a more immediate of increase of $9 per hour.
This decision, by the second largest city in the state, could trigger a wave of increases across the state, where pay scales have been below the minimum, according to the New York Times.
The LA City Council voted 14-1 on late Tuesday. Labor group advocates pushing for the increase in minimum wage in several cities have scored this victory, which they regard as beneficial in improving the lives of workers and their families barely coping with the higher cost of living, the publication said.
LA has followed the recent trend in other cities, such as Alaska, South Dakota, Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago, in approving the increase. Privately-owned companies led by Facebook have also honored the request, the Los Angeles Times reported.
An estimated 800,000 workers in Los Angeles could stand to benefit from this decision. Michael Reich, an economist at the University of California, Berkely told the New York Times that this is the first time since the 1960s that wages are within this scale.
The pressure is now on for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. NYC's currently minimum wage is set at $8.75 per hour, which is only slightly higher than the federal government's required rate of $7.25.
The federal government has set the wage benchmark to rise to $9 at the end of 2015.
