Back in August, the city council requested a study from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC).
LAEDC reported that its study will assess the other reports on the issue that are already in existence, review socio-economic conditions in Long Beach, analyze regional dynamics and conduct a survey through an independent polling firm of 600 businesses.
LA’s own ordinance on minimum wage intends to raise it over five years, bringing the hourly pay to $15 for companies with 26 workers or more. These companies will begin paying workers $10.50 per hour starting July 1, 2016 and will incrementally increase those wages until it reaches $15 in 2020.
LA’s smaller companies with 25 employees or less will have more time to reach $15 per hour. Starting July 1, 2017, wages for employees at these smaller companies will start at $10.50 per hour and will incrementally rise every year until these workers start earning $15 per hour by July 1, 2021.
In a statement back in August, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia advocated to have an “inclusive conversation” on the minimum wage that involves workers, small businesses and nonprofits. He advocated to study the issue and ensure that the “process is open and balanced.”
“While I appreciate the conversation and work that has happened in Los Angeles and other jurisdictions,” he said in his statement, “Long Beach will look towards creating a policy that reflects the needs and interests of our residents and business community.”
The City of Long Beach scheduled six meetings to obtain community input, including two that have already taken place in the last month.
The issue has drawn advocates from both sides of the controversial issue to the meetings so far. Jeremy Harris, senior vice president for the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said he appreciated the mayor’s and the city council’s desire to have an inclusive conversation that involves the business community.
He recalled the controversy over Measure N, which voters passed a few years ago to increase the hourly wages for hotel workers. He drew a fine distinction between how that ballot-measure was passed and how city leaders would be considering a minimum-wage municipal ordinance. He also said that since LA had already passed a minimum-wage ordinance, the Chamber had already advocated to be a part of the conversation on Long Beach’s possible policy. Harris acknowledged that there is another side to the issue. He said that he hoped that business leaders would be asked for their thoughts on what the City could do to help companies comply with any mandated increase to the hourly wages.
He named a few possibilities: tax breaks, tax-free holidays, lower business license fees and making the conditional-use permit (CUP) process more affordable.
He said that the Chamber hasn’t taken an official position on this issue yet, but he acknowledged that the Chamber would not be in favor of any government mandates that would force businesses to run a particular way.
“We believe it needs to be driven by the free market,” Harris said in a phone interview, “but we’re also not naïve as well. We’ve got a Council that!is looking at every potential scenario from other cities and what they’re doing. So we just want to make sure our business voices are heard [during] the entire process and the discussion.”
Nina Fernando is an organizer for Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, an organization that has joined Raise the Wage, a key coalition that includes the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, the AFL-CIO, the Long Beach Filipino Migrant Center and numerous other community-advocacy and labor-advocacy groups.
In a phone interview this week, she advocated for the minimum wages to be increased to $15 in the same way that LA City Council had acted, but she also said that she had hoped that the City Council will develop a comprehensive municipal ordinance that will address “wage theft.”
She said that “all work has value.”
“Any worker who is working a full-time job should be able to pay their rent, should be able to put food on their table, should have access to earned paid sick days so they can care for themselves or their loved ones, should be paid what they’re owed, and not be working!under the table overtime and not getting paid for that,” she added.
She acknowledged that in her experience, she had seen many families relying on assistance. She added that raising the minimum-wage could help workers be self-reliant.
“So when we’re raising the minimum wage, you know we are also allowing those workers to provide for themselves, rather than relying on these public entities,” she said.
The City of Long Beach announced that the upcoming community meetings on the minimum-wage issue are scheduled for the following dates and times:
Oct. 29:Â Economic Development and Finance Committee meeting at 7:30am, Long Beach City College Board Room, 4901 E. Carson Street, Building T, Room 1100, Long Beach.
Nov.17:Â Mayor’s Roundtable at 12pm, Admiral Kidd Park, 2125 Santa Fe Ave., Long Beach.
Nov. 20: Economic Development and Finance Committee meeting at 4pm, Bay Shore Library, 195 Bay Shore Ave., Long Beach.
Nov. 24:Â Economic Development Commission at 6:30pm, Long Beach City Council Chamber, 333 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.
