California Workers Demand Minimum Wage Increase to $30

This comes as unions and labor groups have suggested that the increase to $20 an hour may not be enough for people to meet their basic needs in California.

This comes amidst ambitions to further raise this minimum wage by an additional $6.50 to $29.50 per hour by 2028.

This would be a 50% increase on the current minimum wage. Other workers who would be included in this are janitors, security workers at biotech and technology companies, and event center employees.

This comes after MIT reported that two adults raising two children need to earn $30.58 per hour to support everyone in their family. A single adult with no children must earn $22.31 to support themselves. This is the reason for these wage increases.

However, this amount will likely decrease over the next few years as employees move up the pay scale and progress in their jobs.

In July 2023, the minimum wage for airport employees was increased to $18.78 per hour or $24.73 if health benefits were not included.

If the minimum wage is increased to $30 an hour it could force some small enterprises to shutter their doors if they are unable to meet the cost of employee upkeep.

The study found that small businesses are able to finance the new costs from new revenues and do not often result in mass layoffs. However, this isn’t always the case.

One company that provides food and beverage services to travelers at LAX airport has a staff of 300. The owner claims the business is exclusive to LAX and cannot be made global. If wages go up to $30, the company will go under.

After the increase of the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour, almost 10,000 people working in the sector lost their jobs.

Some wage increases will host hundreds of thousands of dollars a year extra. Combine this with a lack of sales, and there’s every chance some employees will be laid off.

As businesses consider the prospect of having more automation in their places of work replacing waged employees, the potential strain on the already fraught economy has also been noted.

Janitors are looking to push for a $25 minimum wage and other groups are mandating for a universal $20 an hour rate.

However, even the minimum wage increase to $20 per hour comes as a relief to many, as they no longer have to go through this and can stick to one job without being burned out or worrying about how they’re going to pay the bills.

This is because employees who are higher-up cannot be asked to take on more responsibility when they now earn the same or slightly more than those a bit further down the chain.

Even if businesses can afford the wage increases, they might not be able to stay open if they can’t attract customers because their products are priced too high.

Fast-food franchises are struggling to stay in operation as they are faced with higher minimum wages causing increased labor costs and creating a major issue.

This includes things such as the rising cost of housing, bills, and food prices. It causes these things to rise further so businesses can afford the wage increase, as opposed to investigating why these things were high in the first place and what can be done to lower them.

A dilemma arises where the sector is forced to choose between increasing prices for consumers to face these rising costs but risk causing them to choose a cheaper competitor.

However, it is known that regardless of when these rises come into play, they will likely cause a rise in products too. But as this is a few years away, it’s too early to tell what these rises will be, dependent upon the future economic forecast.

As automated workers are becoming more and more common it threatens the future of human workers and their place in the sector.

With the slower speed at which robotic kitchen assistants can work, the value of efficient human employees cannot be underestimated in the draw of chain restaurants for their speed and price.

The minimum wage here is set to rise to $20.29, and companies with more than 500 employees will see this come into practice on January 1, 2025. Businesses that don’t have as many employees won’t see any changes until 2030.

If chain restaurants are unable to adapt to this change in consumer preferences they may be left behind as meal kit delivery services take up an increased share of the market.

With increasing reports of layoffs, fewer hours for workers, and potential closures, the impact of rising minimum wages could cause further disruption across a range of industries.