The Biggest, Baddest, Most Badassed Minimum Wage Proposal in the Country.

$20 is the new $15!

$20 in 2020!

These are not just good catchphrases; they've become a local ballot initiative.

The doubters thought powerful business interests would derail the highest minimum wage in the country from passing by voter initiative in Oakland, CA in 2014. They were wrong. A $12.25(1) measure passed overwhelmingly with more than 80% in favor.

The doubters thought $15/hr was a pipe dream. They were wrong. Cities like Seattle, WA, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Emeryville, CA made it a future reality. And this coming November the entire of State of California will vote for $15/hr by 2021 - right now it seems very likely to pass.

But in cities with housing crises, where median rent for a one bedroom apartment would consume every bit of a $12.25/hr wage, and 80% of a $15/hr wage, a promise of $15/hr some years down the road is not enough.

To put it another way, in the immortal words of MeatLoaf

I never knew so many bad times
Could follow me so mercilessly
It's almost surreal
All the pain that I feel
The future ain't what it used to be

The Fight for $15 is alliterative, alluring and awesome. But it has had the effect of creating the perception that a $15/hr min wage is a ceiling: thus far and no more.

It's time to do away with that perception. And what better place to begin changing a meme than the city which passed this country's highest minimum wage in a grassroots campaign with no support from its elected officials?

And it began yesterday.

A broad-based political coalition has emerged in Oakland to campaign for three ballot initiatives(2) this year that propose to raise the minimum wage to $20 by 2020, establish a police commission, and strengthen renter protections against eviction. Calling themselves the Oakland Justice Coalition, the group announced today at a press conference on the steps of Oakland City Hall that they intend to raise and spend at least $100,000 to campaign for their causes.

The Oakland Livable Wage Assembly, a member of the Oakland Justice Coalition, has created a local ballot initiative and, in cooperation with OJC, has begun collecting signatures for the measure which would

• Raise Oakland's minimum wage to $14.00 in 2017, and $2/yr each year thereafter, reaching $20/hr in 2020.
• Enact fair scheduling regulations, so certain segments of the work force would no longer be left without a clue as to how many hours they will be working, and when, or put "on call" without notice or renumeration.
• Create a Department of Labor Enforcement, with mandated staffing levels, which would prosecute wage theft and enforce the above provisions.

Whether it succeeds in making it to the ballot or not, this sets a new bar. It's time for $15/hr to become the floor demand of those who seek a livable wage, not a future ceiling. It's time to push the boundaries of what is thinkable - and hence doable - further.

-----

1. Oakland's minimum wage is now $12.55, due to a CPI adjustment in January. When Oakland's new minimum wage wage went into effect a year ago, it was the highest minimum wage in the country actually in effect. Emeryville, CA and SeaTac, WA have since gone higher. In July, San Francisco's minimum wage will go to $13.00/hr, on its way to $15 in July, 2018.