Minimum wage in Oakland, let your voice be heard

The minimum wage in Oakland is going up. The question is by how much, how soon, and in which jurisdictions? If you want to weigh in and help the Oakland Chamber weigh in, we need you to complete our survey ASAP: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6BZQHGT. We’re requesting all responses be submitted by 5 PM tomorrow, Tuesday, April 8.

If we take no action, the minimum wage in Oakland will soon go from $8 to $12.25/hour. Here’s how: The most likely scenario is that a proposal gathering signatures right now will go on the ballot in November and raise the Oakland minimum wage from the current $8/hour and soon-to-be $9/hour (on July 1, 2014 given state law signed last year) to $12.25/hour. Yes, that’s right, a more than 50% increase in a span of 8 months. No exceptions for interns, tipped employees, small businesses, or priority industries; and from January 1, 2015 on, it goes up based on cost-of-living increases in perpetuity. The proposal also mandates paid sick leave and other labor standards.

Even if, like most people in this region, you believe a higher minimum wage than the current $8/hour is reasonable, is this the best public policy? Ballot box policy-making without any public discussion or debate?

We need to advocate for public discussion and debate of what’s the right minimum wage for Oakland, how fast should we get there, and are there any nuances we should account for with particular industries. To do so, please give us your input TODAY: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6BZQHGT. Oh, and simply for filling out the survey, you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Starbucks and two other $15 restaurant gift certificates.