Allen
Young
A
group of community organizers on Monday formally launched a $15 hourly minimum
wage ballot measure in Sacramento. The group, known as Raise the Wage
Sacramento, must now collect signatures to qualify the measure for the November
ballot.
"We
will take our ballot initiative and shop it for endorsements" to fund and
operate a campaign, said Tamie Dramer,
chair of Organize Sacramento, a group affiliated with Raise the Wage
Sacramento.
The
initiative would override the
city's $12.50 minimum wage ordinance passed in October, starting
with a minimum wage of $11.50 in 2017 and rising to $15 in 2020, with inflation
adjustments thereafter. It would also provide workers with one hour of paid
sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
The
group backing the measure is an informal community coalition of groups. One of
them, Organize Sacramento, receives its funding from multiple foundations,
including the California
Endowment. The region's biggest labor group, the Sacramento
Central Labor Council, has not taken a position on this proposed
initiative, so it's unclear to what extent unions would be bankrolling the
measure. The labor council has stated it generally supports a $15 minimum wage,
but not gone into specifics.
The
Raise the Wage measure could be one of several
$15 minimum wage measures that have been proposed but not yet
qualified for the ballot.
On
Monday, Dramer submitted "notice of intent" for the ballot measure
and the $200 filing fee, confirmed the City Clerk's office. The Sacramento City
Attorney now has 15 days to return the ballot title and summary. Once those
documents are given to proponents, they have 180 days to circulate petitions
and collect signatures. Dramer said the group needed to submit over 21,500
signatures, or 10 percent of registered voters.
Allen Young covers state and city
government, economic development, education and transportation.
Reposted from Sacramento Business
Journal.
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