VIDEO: See L.A. City Council Action (Worker & Business Testimony, Council Discussion, Voted Action 14-1) To Raise L.A. Minimum Wage To $15/Hr By 2020 (2021 if fewer than 25 employees). Is Long Beach City Council Next? With What Impacts On LB Businesses, Consumers...And Upcoming 2016 Council Races?

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VIDEO: See L.A. City Council Action On Minimum Wage Increase (Worker & Business Testimony, Council Discussion, Voted Action 14-1.) Is Long Beach City Council Next? With What Impacts On LB Businesses, Consumers...And Upcoming 2016 Council Races?

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(May 19, 2015) -- LBREPORT.com provides ON-DEMAND VIDEO below of today's (May 19) Los Angeles City Council meeting at which the Council voted 14-1 (Englander dissenting) to require that L.A. businesses begin raising the minimum wage they pay in annual steps reaching $15/hour by 2020 (and 2021 for firms with fewer than 25 employees.)

At this point, no Long Beach City Council incumbent has publicly proposed doing what L.A. did in L.A. County's second largest city, but the question is politically unavoidable. Will any Long Beach Council incumbent(s) propose raising the minimum wage in Long Beach? Will LB's non-voting Mayor take a position on the issue? Is there a Council majority to raise the minimum wage, and if so by how much and how fast? Will LB's Mayor veto such a measure (requiring six Council votes to override)? How will this issue affect the upcoming April 2016 Council races in districts 2, 4, 6 and 8? Would a LB Council action raising the minimum wage here spark a repeal referendum that would put the issue to voters...and impact LB's 2016 Council races?

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The L.A. County Democratic Party issued this statement by Cal Dem Party Vice Chair Eric Bauman:

For too long, working families have seen their quality of life slowly deteriorating, while those earning the most have seen great increases at their expense. I commend the Los Angeles City Council for today's decisive action which recognizes that a minimum wage salary should not leave someone in poverty, but should enable them to live decently and with dignity. Today, our City Council has officially recognized that someone working 40 hours a week should be able to afford a roof over their head and food for their children. Now, it is time for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the rest of the country to do the same. History has shown that we, as a society, are at our best when our middle class and working families earn a fair and livable wage. We in Los Angeles know that income inequality represents one of the greatest economic tragedies of our time, and we are proud to be part of the fight to bring the American Dream within reach.

LATimes.com described today's L.A. City Council as "the latest demonstration of organized labor's clout at [LA] City Hall."

The L.A. Council ON-DEMAND VIDEO below speaks for itself