Higher minimum-wage proposals gain ground on East, West coasts

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO

The push for a higher minimum wage gained momentum on both sides of the country Wednesday, with New York embracing an eventual $15 an hour for the state’s 200,000 fast-food workers and the huge University of California system announcing the same raise for its employees.

“How we support our workers and their families impacts Californians who might never set foot on one of our campuses,” said UC President Janet Napolitano, who oversees 10 campuses, including UCLA and Berkeley. “It’s the right thing to do.”

The 240,000-student University of California becomes the nation’s largest public university to commit itself to the $15-an-hour wage that has become the rallying cry of many labor groups in recent months.

So far, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley have approved phased-in increases that eventually will take their minimum wage to $15 an hour, or about $31,200 a year. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County, the nation’s most-populous county, voted to craft a law to do the same over five years.

In New York, the state Wage Board endorsed a proposal to set a $15 minimum wage for workers at fast-food restaurants with 30 or more locations. The increase would be phased in over three years in New York City and over six years elsewhere.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has the final say, and he has signaled his support. New York would become the first state to single out a specific industry for such an increase. The state minimum wage is $8.75.

Restaurant owners warned that higher wages could force them to raise prices, cut employee hours and hire fewer workers, and they said they may challenge the move in court.