The San Diego City Council’s economic development committee was packed with activists Monday to support City Council President Todd Gloria’s push to raise the minimum wage from its current $8 an hour. The proposal would also provide paid sick leave for low-income workers.
Minimum wage will increase statewide —- reaching $10 an hour in 2016 -— but Gloria says that amount isn’t enough, although he hasn’t specified just what would be. Not everyone supports the measure. Alisa Rhinehardt, for the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, told the committee a further increase in wages could be damaging to local businesses…
“Many of whom are very concerned about an increase in the minimum wage above and beyond what the state just approved last year. We ask that an independent study be done to first determine the economic impact on the business climate in the city of San Diego,” Rhinehardt said.
Bill Freeman, president of San Diego Education Association, said the measure “does not need to be studied, there’s nothing to study, this is a humane thing to do.”
Freeman said too often parents without paid leave are forced to send sick children to school.
“It’s a question that whether you want to pay now, or pay later,” he said.
The City Council has to approve a draft of the measure for it to reach the November ballot. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer opposes the increase, saying the state already has it covered.
