California Initiative to Increase the Minimum Wage

Petitions will be available in the Free Speech area at Fresno State to obtain signatures of registered voters to get an initiative on the ballot this November to raise the minimum wage to $8.75 an hour.

Why a Statewide Initiative?

In spite of several minimum wage increases from $1.50 in the 1960's to $6.75 now, the minimum wage rate has actually lost ground relative to inflation. The legislature is considering a bill that would raise it to $7.75 over two years and index it to inflation. The governor vetoed a similar bill last year. Even if this passes, $7.75 isn't a "Fair Wage" and it is far from a Living Wage. The federal minimum wage, currently $5.15 per hour, would be nearly $9 if it had been indexed to inflation since 1968, and even that rate doesn't allow workers to support their families. Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) will eliminate forever the erosion of worker's wage gains and buying power, by tying the new wage rate to automatic annual increases when the cost of living increases.

For details about the initiative, go to http://tinyurl.com/ey624