California lawmakers vote to raise minimum wage to $10 an hour by 2016 (Reuters)

[pinto]

California lawmakers vote to raise minimum wage to $10 an hour by 2016

By Sharon Bernstein
SACRAMENTO, California | Thu Sep 12, 2013 11:17pm EDT

(Reuters) - Minimum wage workers in California would earn $10 an hour by 2016 under a bill passed by the legislature on Thursday, making the state likely to become the first in the nation to commit to such a high rate.

The bill, which Governor Jerry Brown said he will sign, would increase the minimum wage for hourly workers in the most populous U.S. state from the current rate of $8 an hour to $9 in July 2014, and to $10 by January 2016.

"The minimum wage has not kept pace with rising costs," Brown, a Democrat, said in a statement. "This legislation is overdue and will help families that are struggling in this harsh economy."

Brown, protective of the state's tenuous economic recovery, had initially opposed the bill but agreed to support it on Wednesday after leaders of both houses of the Democratic-led state legislature agreed to postpone the effective date of the raise until 2016.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/13/us-usa-california-minimumwage-idUSBRE98C00920130913?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

[Cleita]

1. It's a start but still only $20,800 a year and

still not a living wage. Maybe we need some legislation in empowering unions.