We did it in California! Sí se pudo!
SEIU Local 99 President Barbara Torres, flanked by California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, looks on as Governor signs the new $15 minimum wage bill into law.
On April 4, 2016, working families across California celebrated Governor Brown’s signing of Senate Bill 3, which establishes a pathway to a $15 statewide minimum wage by 2022. This historic legislation will lift California’s working families out of poverty, and transform the lives of the 6.5 million Californians who earn less than $15 an hour. Plus it lifts the wage floor so we can continue to improve wages for all working families.
SEIU Local 99 members led the way to this historic win after negotiating the first large Fight for $15 victory in California with our 2014 contract with the Los Angeles Unified School District. SEIU Local 99 members working for LAUSD will begin earning at least $15 an hour starting this July 1st.
Click here to watch the YouTube video from the Los Angeles Fight for $15 campaign that tells the story of how all of us made history! (Click here to watch it on Facebook).
While signing the legislation, the Governor said, “We wouldn’t be here today without SEIU.”
SEIU members’ vision anchored the movement launched by fast food workers three years ago and it has now completely changed the conversation around income inequality in this country and the future of California’s working families.
The movement we’ve launched is unstoppable, yet we will not declare victory until all workers win a livable wage and a voice on the job, benefits and a seat at the bargaining table.
SEIU Local 99 child care providers, for example, still earn as little as $4.98 an hour after paying their assistants, providing meals and books for their little learners and covering other expenses. Let’s stay in the fight until we win $15/hr. and union rights for all workers at SEIU Local 99, throughout California and across the country!
On April 14, SEIU Local 99 members took to the streets of Los Angeles as part of the Global Day of Action to Fight for $15. We marched alongside SEIU Local 99 Child Care Providers to ensure that their hard work is rewarded with a living wage. Click-through the photos of this exciting march below:
