Local labor union leaders marched through downtown on Wednesday, calling on San Diego's elected leaders to pass an ordinance mandating a $25 minimum wage for service workers in the city.
“This ordinance will lift the bar to $25 an hour for folks that work in the major hotels in the city of San Diego, and to name some of the venues that it would encompass, it would be the Convention Center, the Civic Theatre and Petco Park,” Fernanda Flores, IATSE Local 122 political director, said.
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The journey during the march took the workers on a route from near the Bayfront to city hall. The goal is to highlight their call to action surrounding a wage increase, according to the workers involved in the march.
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“A lot of our workers are not able to make ends meet, and we have seen a huge trend in the last year just to be able to make it here in San Diego. A lot of the employees have had to go across the border to live,” Flores said.
One of the workers at the march said it would bring peace of mind to many workers that are struggling to make ends meet.
“It’s going to make it easier for everyone to live. I’ll be able to pay off some debt finally, maybe actually put some towards my house. I have a child that’s starting at SDSU this fall, and it’ll be a good way to not actually have to worry about paying that tuition,” Jordan Sullivan, a local audio-visual worker, said.
The rising cost of living in the San Diego area will mean more people will need to see wages rise to keep up with costs, according to local economists.
“The cost of living in San Diego is really high, particularly in terms of housing, and so people working in those industries are typically at the lower end of the economic spectrum, so this should give them a boost to give them more money to spend and help them, in terms of dealing with issues like high rent and other things,” Alan Gin, University of San Diego economics professor, said.
Gin says there are mixed research about the impacts rising wages would have on the labor market.
“Usually, when an increase in the minimum wage is talked about, there is some concern talked about on the impact on employment. The research in economics is mixed on that. There’s no clear evidence that an increase in the minimum wage then will lead to significant decrease in employment,” Gin said.
Recently, fast food workers in California received a pay raise to $20 per hour. Healthcare workers are expected to receive an hourly pay raise over time as well.
Higher wages lead to a more stable labor market, Gin says.
“One thing that it does do is you have a more stable workforce, in the sense that if people are making a pretty good income, there’s less turnover, so businesses will save on costs that way, in terms of not having to retrain new workers,” Gin said.
Union leaders are pushing for an ordinance to be introduced, passed and in effect by early 2025.
