On May 12, Yes on the California Living Wage Act, the campaign behind an initiative to increase the state’s minimum wage to $18, announced that they had collected over 1 million signatures. The initiative would enact a law to increase the minimum wage at different intervals depending on whether an employer has 26 or more workers or 25 or fewer workers. For employers with 26 or more workers, the minimum wage would reach $18 on Jan. 1, 2025. For employers with 25 or fewer workers, the minimum wage would reach $18 on Jan. 1, 2026. After reaching $18 an hour, the minimum wage would be tied to the CPI-W. Currently, the state’s minimum wage is $15 for large employers and $14 for smaller employers.
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is 623,212, which is equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Joe Sanberg filed the ballot initiative on Dec. 3, 2021. He said, “This is an issue that speaks to people’s everyday lives. It’s easy to explain and easy to understand and I expect we’re going to win. We’re planning this to win.”
The Working Hero Action for the Living Wage Act PAC is funding the campaign. It reported $10.88 million in contributions in its latest campaign finance filings. Sanberg has contributed $10.87 million. The campaign has received endorsements from AFSCME California PEOPLE, the California Faculty Association, Unite Here Local 11, UPTE-CWA Local 9119, and SEIU Local 87.
