San Francisco’s Minimum Wage Increases to $13/hour
Print this Article | Send to Colleague
Starting Friday, July 1, 2016, the minimum wage in San Francisco is increasing from $12.25 to $13 an hour as part of a series of increases that will see The City’s hourly wages climb to $15 by 2018, according to city officials.
Mayor Ed Lee celebrated the increase, which comes ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, Friday morning during a news conference at his office.
Calling the increase a milestone, Lee said the pay hike would help working families who are struggling in San Francisco.
"We know that with our workforce, there’s still an affordability gap. A lot of people are working two jobs to support their families. So we must celebrate these moments where we can get together to help them," Lee said.
The increase is the second in a set of increases that will see The City’s minimum wage rise to $15 by 2018. In May 2015, The City’s wage increased from $11.05 to $12.25.
"It’s an honor to serve The City that supports some of the most aggressive and strongest labor protections in the U.S.," the city’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement Director Pat Mulligan said.
"It’s also particularly fitting that we’re celebrating this announcement of an increase in minimum wage throughout San Francisco as we lead into the Fourth of July Independence Day weekend because for many workers, a modest increase or any increase in their earnings or wage earnings represents a very real and well defined independence of its own," Mulligan said.
Voters in San Francisco and Oakland overwhelmingly approved pay hikes during the November 2014 elections.
In San Francisco, proposition J won with 78 percent of the vote and in Oakland, Measure FF won with 82 percent. The two initiatives were each originally filed by a coalition of Service Employees International Union members, community-based organizations and other labor unions.
The state’s minimum wage hit $10 per hour on Jan. 1. Under the new plan, it will rise to $10.50 next year for businesses with 26 or more employees and continue rising gradually until it reaches $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2022.
News Release provided by:
Bay City News
San Francisco Examiner
