LA Councilmember Krekorian, Healthcare Workers, Community Leaders to Deliver Boxes with 100,000+ Signatures to LA County to Qualify Initiative Raising California’s Minimum Wage Measure Would Affect 550,000 Workers in LA County
LOS ANGELES – At 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian, healthcare employees, low-wage workers and community leaders will submit more than 100,000 voter signatures to county election officials to qualify a ballot initiative to raise California’s minimum wage, beginning with an event at the office of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, 634 S. Spring St., in Los Angeles.
They will stack boxes of signatures, hold a short speaking program for the media, answer questions about the initiative, and then transport the boxes to the Registrar of Voter’s office to submit the signatures for verification.
The Fair Wage Act of 2016 would raise the state’s minimum wage to $11 in 2017 and then gradually increase it a dollar a year until it reaches $15 in 2021. Once the minimum wage reaches $15, it will automatically be adjusted each year to keep pace with the cost of living.
According to the California Employment Development Department, an estimated 550,000 workers and their families in Los Angeles County would be affected by the ballot initiative, or 29 percent of the region’s workforce. Across California, the initiative would affect 3.3 million workers and their families.
This week, members of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, which is sponsoring the ballot initiative, will deliver more than 600,000 voter signatures to county registrars statewide to qualify the measure for the November 2016 ballot – far more than the 366,000 signatures required.
According to a recent Field Poll, 68 percent of registered California voters support the initiative.
WHAT: Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian, low-wage workers, community leaders, small business owners and healthcare workers will submit boxes containing more than 100,000 voter signatures to the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters to qualify a ballot initiative to raise California’s minimum wage. Low-wage workers from Los Angeles will share their stories and community leaders will speak
WHEN: 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016
WHERE: MALDEF
634 S. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90014
VISUALS: Dozens of healthcare workers, low-wage workers and allies wearing t-shirts reading “Lift Up California Wages” will stack boxes of signatures while they discuss the initiative.
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