Posted on 12/23/2025 8:16:30 AM PST by Angelino97
Californians will see the minimum wage increase to $16.90 per hour starting Jan. 1. The adjustment — a boost of 40 cents per hour — was calculated in August by the Department of Finance as part of its minimum wage annual review required by state law.
California has been raising its minimum wage over the past decade. Former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016 signed a watershed law to increase minimum wage from $10.50 per hour to $15 per hour, plus annual adjustments for inflation.
The current rate of $16.50 per hour suggests that a minimum wage worker needs to work 98 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom rental at fair market rent in California, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
California is one of 19 states to raise minimum wages in 2026, according to payroll company ADP. Cities and counties can also set their own minimum wages. This year, over two dozen local jurisdictions have increased local minimum wages. West Hollywood will have a $20.25 minimum wage starting in January — the highest of any California city, according to the UC Berkeley Labor Center.
Voters last November narrowly rejected a ballot measure that would have increased the minimum wage to $18 per hour. But some low-wage workers this year have successfully lobbied for bumps in pay in specific industries.
Under laws Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in 2023, fast food workers earn a minimum wage wage of $20 an hour and health care workers are on track to make $25 an hour.
That momentum extended to Los Angeles hotel and airport employees. Labor organizers in May secured a city minimum wage increase to $30 per hour for those workers by the 2028 Olympics. Large businesses fought back, arguing that wage hikes will only increase challenges for the tourism industry, which is still struggling to find its footing after the pandemic.
After failing to gather enough signatures for a ballot measure to repeal the new minimum wage, business groups later filed a different measure that could gut millions of dollars of revenue from the city’s general fund.
Following the move, Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson this month introduced a motion to delay the full wage increase from taking effect until 2030, according to reporting from the Los Angeles Times.
Labor leaders rebuked the motion, calling it “repulsive.”
“You can’t threaten to blow a hole in our budget and then the only way to stop it is on the backs of workers,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of the union that represents many hotel workers, UNITE HERE Local 11. “That kind of raw extortion and shakedown has no place in our city.”
According to Peterson, a coalition of community organizations and unions are beginning to collect signatures for a ballot measure that would raise the minimum wage to $30 per hour for all workers in Los Angeles.
“The power is everyone together,” said Peterson. “Working people need help and raising wages is the easiest, most straightforward thing to do. Going up 40 cents per hour in 2026 doesn’t move the needle at all.”
“The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of people to take money from.”
(M. Thatcher)
What cheapskates! If mandating pay actually worked, then why not mandate $200/hr for fast-food workers and call it a day? I suspect some of those proposing this cynically know it won’t work, but hope to be gone before the fecal matter hits the rotary cooling equipment.
At this point in my life I am enjoying watching CA commit suicide. I just hope to be around to see how far it goes.
Lunch for a family of four at a fast food joint will be well over $70 dollars.
Minimum wage. Straight up socialism that has no place in the economy of the United States.
This wage “increase” is to price citizens out of employment and incentivize employers to hire illegal alien invaders under the table.
I support this...good and hard.
“Fight For $15” was in 2021. In a short time, they’ve now doubled that demand. Not surprising. “Fight For 50” can’t be too far off.
DO IT. I never have to visit that fetid s hole again now that I have no more family there.
As the great Rush Limbaugh stated many years ago, the true minimum wage is ALWAYS 0!
That’s the minimum wage that our market should be demanding by now but isn’t—due to massive illegal (especially) immigration.
Invest in fast food robots.
It already is in LA.
Robot manufacturing companies support a human minimum wage of one trillion dollars per hour.
Lol.
These idiots don’t understand even the most basic economic principles.
Elon Musk should consider donating millions to this cause. California is going to make Robot Man the world’s first multi-trillionaire.
$30.00? Why $30.00?? Make it $100.00 per hour and everyone will be rich!! Problem solved!!
Swell, but it cost $90 an hour to live there
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