Who's Behind It: San Francisco's unions and politicians.
Who Stands to Benefit: Low-income workers.
Some bills are dangerous to get on the wrong side of. When the pro column includes Mayor Ed Lee and the major city unions, it's understandable that Proposition J has no formal dissenters. The measure would raise San Francisco's minimum wage incrementally over the next four years to eventually land at $15 an hour in July 2018. That rate would mean a minimum salary of $31,000 per year for a full-time worker in the city.
No one wants to come across like a cheapskate or on the wrong side of workers' rights. But small business advocacy groups like the Golden Gate Restaurant Association and the San Francisco Council of District Merchant Associations say that the bill as written could have unintended consequences. Namely, prices could become higher at restaurants and mom-and-pop shops as businesses try to recoup the added expense; some may need to lay off employees. These groups wanted the measure to have more considerations for small businesses, like a longer phase-in period or a total compensation approach for calculating minimum wage, as the cost of doing business is higher here than in neighboring cities already.
But with the backing of nearly every politico in the city, even the dissenters are resigned to the fact Prop. J is likely to pass. But they do want to encourage the public to vote with their wallets as well as their ballots.
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