Workers group faults Faulconer on wage stance

Kevin Faulconer
Kevin Faulconer

SAN DIEGO (Press Release)—Low-wage workers and faith leaders met with Mayor Kevin Faulconer on Friday, July 25,  to share stories of life on the city’s economic margins and call for his support for the soon-to-be-passed earned sick days and minimum wage ordinance. At the close of the conversation the Mayor stated that he still intended to veto the earned sick days and minimum wage measure. The measure would provide 279,000 San Diegans access to earned sick days and 172,000 minimum wage earners with an incremental raise.

Faulconer was non-committal when asked if he would halt a rumored referendum effort.

Workers and clergy were hugely disappointed by the Mayor’s response:

Rabbi Laurie Coskey, executive director of the Interfaith Center for Worker Justice, said  “People’s lives are really going to be affected by this. People living in such poverty, it is not right. We are a country and city of opportunity and if you work full-time you should not be living in poverty. The Mayor’s decision to veto the measure will take away $260 Million dollars from the paychecks of hard working San Diegans.”

“It makes me sad. The Mayor should fight for his people. We are the people who make the businesses run” said Andrea Tookes, mother and security officer

Biviana Lagunas, an SDSU student working to help provide for her family, said “the mayor doesn’t get it.  He doesn’t live the reality of struggling to keep food on the table while paying rent.”

“Raising the minimum wage will make a huge difference in the lives of tens of thousands of San Diegans,” said Jessie Thomas, 28, a full-time waitress and full-time student who earns $10 an hour after tips.  “America is based on the ideal that everyone should have a chance to succeed and that everyone who works hard and plays by the rules should be able to at least pull themselves out of poverty.”

On Monday, the City Council is expected to give final approval to an ordinance raising the local minimum wage from the current $9 to $9.75 on January 1, 2015; to $10.50 on January 1, 2016; and to $11.50 on January 1, 2017. Additionally, local workers would be able to earn up to five days of paid sick leave based on longevity on the job. After final approval the measure would go before the Mayor who is expected to veto it.

Today, a minimum wage job in San Diego pays just $1,560 a month.  The average monthly rent is $1,354, making it nearly impossible for minimum wage workers to afford even basic essentials, like food, transportation and childcare.

The proposed ordinance, sponsored by City Council President Todd Gloria, is backed by a growing coalition local businesses and nonprofit civic and social service organizations.  It has the support of a strong majority of voters, according to public opinion surveys.

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Preceding provided by the Raise Up San Diego community coalition