Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law on April 3 that will gradually increase minimum wage until it reaches $15 per hour by 2022.
California is the second state to adopt the $15 minimum wage plan. New York was the first.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the minimum wage in California will reach $15 for employers with 26 or more workers by 2022. For those with fewer than 25 workers, minimum wage will not reach $15 until the following year, 2023.
The minimum wage has continued to be a pressing issue for many employees, even though it has steadily risen. In California, the minimum wage increased 11.1 percent between July 2014 and January 2016. However, the new law will be a huge change that will affect the economy, all companies and businesses, and both employees and employers.
What is the Problem?
Workers have been dissatisfied with the minimum wage and what they have been paid for working long hours, even though the minimum wage has been consistently rising.
A little history
The minimum wage was first created in 1938, when the lowest wage an employer could offer was 25 cents, which would be worth $4.19 today, according to Be Business Ed.
Workers still struggled and tried to work for change.
When Franklin Roosevelt was president, he received complaints from young girls who worked in sewing factories. According to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library Home Page, these girls said that they were working all day and their pay was getting cut lower and lower. Roosevelt realized he had to do something about these long hours and child labor.
Attempts to Solve the Problem
Minimum wage has steadily risen through the decades since 1938:
1938- 25 cents
1945- 40 cents
1967- $1.40
1981- $3.35
1997- $5.15
2009- $7.25
2016- $10
This can help, of course, but as the economy and prices continue to go up, so do the demands of raising minimum wage.
The recent bill Jerry Brown signed to increase minimum wage so it will reach $15 an hour by 2022 will hopefully help minimize the problem.
Katie Simmons, president and CEO of the Chico Chamber of Commerce, is thinking ahead to how local businesses will face this change.
“The Chico Chamber Board will give serious consideration to the issue, acknowledging the known and unintended impacts to businesses and nonprofit organizations in rural California communities like Chico, where the living wage is lower than in most urban areas of the state,” Simmons wrote in an email. “Generally speaking, a one-size-fits-all approach rarely benefits or enhances our region’s unique economy.”
This change will also affect students who have part-time jobs on or off-campus and their employers as well.
Raising the minimum wage will be a good thing because people will be able to afford more, especially in the Bay Area because housing is so much more expensive here,” said California State University East Bay junior Jen Morita, who works at the student store on campus. “By raising minimum wage in places that have a higher cost of living, people will benefit in many ways. If it wasn’t raised, people would continue to struggle with the cost of living and in other areas since they are only making $9-$10 an hour.”
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo junior Camille Clark words at Panera Bread near campus also supports the increase.
“Raising the minimum wage to $15 is a significant step that society should take to ensure a better well-being for society and the people in it,” she said. “I think people will definitely be positively affected by the change because they will have the chance to improve their lifestyles and in turn help improve the lives of their families as well.”
By Hannah Suzuki
