Council And Mayor Should Start Discussing Increase To Minimum Wage In Long Beach

LBReport.com

Opinion

by Jim McCabe *

* Mr. McCabe is a retired Long Beach Deputy City Attorney

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(Feb. 10, 2015) -- There is likely no more unifying economic idea among progressive and Democratic lawmakers than increasing the minimum wage. Our Mayor here in Long Beach is a Democrat. All but one of this City's Councilmembers is a Democrat. They profess to be progressives.

Yet, surprise, there has been no word from the Mayor or Council advocating even looking at this important issue, much less increasing the minimum here.

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The State of California minimum wage goes to $10.00 on January 1 of next year.

The City of Oakland has raised its minimum wage to $12.25 by City initiative that passed by a vote of 83% of voters in favor

The City of San Francisco has raised its minimum wage to $11.05 as of this year with the rate gradually going up to $15.00 on July 1 of 2018.

The City of San Jose has raised its minimum wage to $10.30 as of this year.

The City of San Diego raised its minimum wage to $10.50 as of 2016 and $11.50 as of 2017.

The Mayor of the City of Los Angeles has proposed a minimum wage in that City of $13.25.

The City of Richmond has raised its minimum wage to $10.50 an hour to go to $15 in 2018.

The Mayor of the City of Sacramento has announced that he wants to explore a higher minimum wage for that city.

Neither the Mayor of Long Beach nor the City Council have proposed even looking at the issue of the minimum wage here. Why is that?

Is it possible the Mayor and Council have simply not noticed what is going on in other cities of this state? Not likely. A safer way to predict the actions of the Mayor and the Council is to look to what is likely the underlying situation here.

Is it true that the real power in Long Beach is the Chamber of Commerce and its employer friends? They certainly represent the bulk of the big money contributors to campaign war chests and the recently enlarged "officeholder accounts" widely thought of as political "slush funds." Would I being going too far to suggest that the Mayor and most members of the Council unofficially belong to the Chamber of Commerce Democratic Party?

Am I wrong to put forward these questions? Mayor Garcia has the power to prove that I am wrong and to take up the issue of the minimum wage in Long Beach. The Council has that same power.

I must admit that the City of Bakersfield has not taken up the issue of a locally increased minimum wage. Those of us in Long Beach will have to be satisfied to be known as the Bakersfield of the South.

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