California residents voted against a proposal to raise the state’s minimum wage from $16 to $18 by 2026.
This marked the first time the blue state has rejected a wage increase in nearly three decades, another sign the state has slowly leaned toward becoming more conservative.
But it was a close call, as 49 percent of voters said ‘yes’ to higher wages while 51 percent shot it down, according to California’s election results. The Associated called the vote on Tuesday evening.
Proposition 32 was backed by anti-poverty advocate and businessman Joseph Sanberg – who asserted the fight for better pay is not over just because the bill did not pass.
He told Politico: ‘This close result shows that California workers are ready for change and won’t back down.
‘The fight for higher wages and economic dignity for millions of California workers doesn’t end here.’
Some experts have pointed to existing wage increases within specific California labor unions to explain why the Proposition 32 did not succeed.
For example, minimum wage in the fast-food industry is already $20 in California.
The sunset over Downtown Los Angeles (pictured). California voters rejected an initiative to raise the state minimum wage to $18
Jot Condie said the outcome was ‘historic’ and people were not in favor of Proposition 32 because it would increase costs across California
Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom, signed off on a law that is gradually increasing health care workers’ pay. Eventually, they will be making $25 an hour.
Critics of the failed legislation, like president and CEO of the California Restaurant Association Jot Condie, called the voting outcome ‘historic.’
Condie said voters rallied against a law that would increase the state’s cost of living.
‘It is important that policymakers hear the message being sent by the voters – stop using California consumers as guinea pigs for public policy experiments that make life more expensive for everyone,’ she said, according to Politico.
California State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business John Kabateck agreed with Condie’s sentiment, stating people ‘correctly saw Prop 32 as another broadside on the ever-shrinking budgets of working-class families.’
Jennifer Barrera, the president and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce, said if the bill had passed, it would have likely hiked up taxes and force business to get rid of some of their staff.
She told the Associated Press: ‘With the economy and costs top of mind for many voters this election, that message appears to have resonated.’
Despite backlash, supporters of the proposition argued it would have helped over 2 million workers, including those who are employed by grocery stores and hotels.
A labor union demonstrating in California for wage rights (pictured). One factor that experts say may have hindered the bill from passing is that specific sectors already have higher minimum wages
Joseph Sanberg sponsored Proposition 32 and asserted that ‘the fight for higher wages and economic dignity for millions of California workers doesn’t end here’
‘Proposition 32´s failure to pass is disappointing for all Californians who believe that everyone who works should earn enough to support their families,’ Kathy Finn, president of the UFCW 770 labor union, told the Associated Press.
UFCW 770 represents over 30,000 laborers across various sectors.
Politico reported Sanberg spent $10 million to set the initiative into motion back in 2022.
California’s minimum wage has doubled since 2010, when it was just $8 per hour.
In 2016, the West Coast state became the first in the country to standardize a $15 hourly rate. The law was approved by the governor at the time, Jerry Brown, who was also a Democrat.
There are 40 California cities and counties that have established minimum wages above the statewide rate.
However, several counties in the famously liberal state have been swinging over to the right, the recent election revealed.
The state’s bluest county, San Francisco, registered a seven-point swing in favor of Donald Trump compared to the 2020 election – possibly as part of a broader political realignment within the state.
Sanberg is an anti-poverty advocate and spent $10 million in 2022 to qualify Proposition 32, Politico reported
Protestors rallied for better wages (pictured). Proponents of the rejected proposition said it would have raised the wages of over 2 million workers
After a decade of ‘soft-on-crime’ reforms to the criminal justice system, California voters rejected portions of Proposition 47.
The 2014 law reduced five non-violent, low-level crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.
Voters overwhelmingly rolled back portions of the 2014 law – with all 58 California counties, in a rare occurrence, agreeing.
That stands in stark contrast to a decade ago, when 58 percent of voters across the state elected to pass Proposition 47.
Proposition 36, a law that erased many of the amendments made by its predecessor, passed with 68.9 percent of the vote this month, making thefts of $950 or less a felony again for offenders with two or more past theft convictions.
