A measure that would raise the minimum wage of some healthcare workers in Los Angeles to $25 an hour will go before voters in 2024, with the City Council opting today to place a referendum petition on the ballot.
The ordinance raising the health care minimum wage was the result of an initiative petition drive presented to the council in June. The council adopted the ordinance rather than submit the issue to voters, and it was signed into law by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
But the “No on the Los Angeles Unequal Pay Measure” group subsequently collected enough signatures to force a referendum, suspending the ordinance and prompting a public vote on the measure.
The ordinance would raise affected workers’ minimum wage, adjusting it annually to account for increases in the cost of living, and prohibit employers from funding the minimum wage increase by laying off workers or reducing benefits or hours.
The ordinance applies only to privately owned facilities, including hospitals, clinics, skilled nursing facilities or residential care facilities. It applies to workers including clinicians, nursing assistants, aides, technicians, maintenance workers, janitors, housekeepers, clerical workers and administrative workers.
The current minimum wage in Los Angeles is $16.04.
The initiative petition drive to create the ordinance was organized by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West. According to the union, a recent survey of its members found concerns about...
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