| "$30 by 30!" isn't yet a familiar political rallying cry. But it might become one. That's because liberals, emboldened by recent polling and electoral successes, are pushing hard for big metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area to set a $30-an-hour minimum wage by the year 2030. |
| A coalition of labor and left-leaning activists announced Tuesday in L.A. that they hope to have the county Board of Supervisors take up a proposal to mandate the higher wage soon, phasing the increase in over roughly five years for businesses operating in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. |
| That would be a heady increase over the current $17.28 minimum hourly wage. It would mirror the increase that the Los Angeles City Council approved in May for hotel and airport workers, which also will be phased in over five years. That proposal already survived a challenge by a coalition of hotel and business interests, which failed by a September deadline to gather enough signatures to put a measure on the ballot striking down the pumped up wages. |
| Such proposals seem destined to spread in a time when public polling shows that the cost of living remains the top concern of Americans. The Living Wage for All Coalition said it's beginning to organize for wage increases in San Francisco and Alameda counties. And New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani plans to push a $30-an-hour wage after he takes office January 1. |
Who opposes to the $30-an-hour wage? |
| Businesses opposed to the wage hikes say the increases will force employers to cut employees and to raise prices, adding to the spiral of inflation. They predict that some restaurants and other narrow-margin operators will be forced out of business. |
| Both supporters and opponents of the higher minimum wage in Los Angeles cite the 2028 Summer Olympics as an event that should broadly benefit the community. |
| The labor groups say they want the higher wages in place so that working-class people benefit from the influx of visitors and revenue. Opponents say the higher wages could be counterproductive. An alliance of airlines and hoteliers opposing the city's $30 wage said: "It's clear that the ordinance will jeopardize jobs, push hotels to the brink of closure, severely cut tax revenue the city desperately needs, and leave the city grossly unprepared for the 2028 Olympic Games." |
| Organizers who gathered outside the L.A. County Hall of Administration Tuesday said that the real economic crisis in the city today is among low-wage workers who can barely pay their bills. The Living Wage for All group said that high rents have taken a particularly heavy toll. Citing U.S. Census and Zillow data, the group said that nearly 75% of restaurant workers pay more than half of their income in rent. |
| "That means folks have to decide between paying the rent and buying good food or saving money for a rainy day," said Estuardo Mazariegos, co-director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) in Los Angeles. "We want to make sure that, in the fifth largest economy in the world, folks don't have to work two or three jobs to have a good standard of living." |
| The $30-an-hour wage would become the highest minimum wage in America. Several cities in the state of Washington, including Seattle, currently stand atop the minimum wage ranks, at more than $20 an hour. The state of California's minimum wage of $17 is more than double the national benchmark of $7.25. |
| A pollster who works with Democrats said that 64% of L.A. voters surveyed about the issue said that the minimum wage was a "medium to high" priority to them, compared to other issues. The same survey found that 58% favored a $30 wage, while 26% opposed it, with 16% not sure. |
Today's top stories |
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| Epstein abuse survivor Haley Robson holds up a photo of her younger self during a news conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. (Heather Diehl / Getty Images) |
Congress votes to release the Epstein files |
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O.J. Simpson's estate agrees to pay in wrongful death suit |
- O.J. Simpson's estate has agreed to pay millions to Ron Goldman's family three decades after Simpson was found not guilty in the infamous murder trial.
- This multimillion-dollar claim stems from a wrongful death suit the Goldman family won against Simpson in 1997.
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Higher education under Trump |
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More L.A. rain is on the way |
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What else is going on |
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Commentary and opinions |
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This morning's must reads |
| | | 'Empire of Orgasm' chronicles the descent of a Bay Area-based wellness company that promised sexual liberation but ultimately morphed into a manipulative enterprise. | | | |
Other must reads |
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| Keep up with California | Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. | | | | | |
For your downtime |
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| Culver City's Fat + Flour cafe serves classic pies, cookies and biscuits from baker Nicole Rucker. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times) |
Going out |
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Staying in |
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Question of the day: What's one special dish your family makes for Thanksgiving? |
| Liz Freeman said, "My grandmother always made Pink Salad, an old-school congealed salad she served in the same red Pyrex bowl since the 1950s. When she passed away a few years ago, the only thing I asked for was that bowl. Now I've taken over Pink Salad duties, and every Thanksgiving I relive those wonderful memories as I whip up the same tangy, fluffy, maraschino-cherry concoction." |
| Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. |
And finally ... your photo of the day |
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The Saroyan Stairs, declared a historic cultural monument by the city of Los Angeles in 1991, in L.A.'s Beachwood Canyon. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times) |
| Today's great photo is from Times staff photographer Myung J. Chun of The Saroyan Stairs, which are in an area where proposed "zone zero" rules would require all plant materials to be removed within five feet of a home or other structure in hopes of saving homes in high fire hazard severity zones. |
Have a great day, from the Essential California team |
| Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo MartÃn, assistant editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
June Hsu, editorial fellow
Andrew Campa, weekend reporter
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters |
| How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com. |
