Californians in two industries are set to get new minimum wages just for them next year, and that could lead to pay bumps for other workers, too.
Gov. Gavin Newsom this year signed two union-backed bills that will boost fast-food and health care workers’ minimum wages.
California-based fast-food workers for chains with 60 or more locations around the nation will earn at least $20 an hour beginning in April, $4 higher than the overall state minimum wage of $16 that will be effective Jan. 1.
In June, health care workers will earn a minimum of $18, $21 or $23 an hour, depending on what type of facility employs them and where they work.
The industry-specific wage increases reflect a shift in unions’ strategies at the Capitol. After the Great Recession, labor groups led campaigns that resulted in then-Gov. Jerry Brown signing a law in 2016 that put California on a path to a $15 minimum wage. That law included inflation adjustments, which is why the minimum wage is higher today.
The two new laws are expected to trigger pay increases for about 900,000 Californians, some of whom are earning more than minimum wage today.
They are going into effect in a competitive labor market that has seen employers, especially small businesses, struggling to hire and retain workers. California’s unemployment rate is at 4.8%, which is higher compared with the federal unemployment rate of 3.7% but is near a historic low.
The new fast-food minimum wage could push up pay for other restaurant and food workers, experts say.
In a tight labor market, “other food-services companies will likely have to increase wages in order to retain workers in a sector in which chronic…
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