Minimum Wage In Echo Park To Jump To $16.04 Due To Inflation

LOS ANGELES, CA — Thanks to the rising cost of orange juice, gas, appliances and just about everything else, minimum wage workers in Echo Park-Silver Lake will get a raise effective July 1, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Thursday.

The new minimum wage in the City of Angels will jump to $16.04 an hour from $15. Triggered by inflation, the wage increase has faced opposition from numerous industry groups that contend it poses a burden on businesses, particularly during times of economic upheaval. Los Angeles city leaders, however, championed the increase as a tool for combating poverty.

"We fought to raise the minimum wage because hard work should always be met with the dignity, respect, and opportunity that fair pay brings," Garcetti said. "Our decision to end poverty wages in L.A. caused a ripple effect across the nation, and this additional increase is the latest reason to celebrate today — and a reminder of how our fight for better wages is far from finished."

Southern California is home to both the nation's highest minimum wage and a cost of living that ranks among the nation's highest. Last month, West Hollywood enacted the nation's highest minimum wage — a $17.64 per hour minimum wage for hotel workers. It's more than twice the federal minimum wage. California's minimum wage is $15 per hour.

The region's high minimum wage still fails to keep up with the cost of living. Locally, the living wage is estimated to be $19.35 per hour, according to a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Los Angeles wage increase was signed into law in 2015, lifting it to $15 per hour by 2020 and making it subject to increases each year based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers in the L.A. metropolitan area.

According to Garcetti's office, more than 600,000 Angelenos make minimum wage and will receive a pay increase on July 1 when it takes effect.

"Everyday workers continue to face many challenges. The minimum wage rate increase is intended to help move us toward a better economy and ensure that employees can have their basic needs met," Dr. Mike Davis, president pro tempore of the Board of Public Works Commission, said in a statement. "I commend the mayor and City Council for their efforts to combat income inequality and our Bureau of Contract Administration for protecting and promoting the health, safety and welfare of workers in Los Angeles."

The Bureau of Contract Administration handles implementing and administering the minimum wage guidelines for Los Angeles.

The bureau's director, John L. Reamer Jr., said the annual pay adjustment is meant to ensure that workers' wages keep pace with inflation.

"This is an important step to address economic realities for every Angeleno who is working hard to support themselves and their families," he said. "As always, our Office of Wage Standards will remain committed to protecting vulnerable workers from experiencing wage theft to advance labor standards in the city and provide hardworking individuals the opportunity to earn a fair wage for the work they perform."

Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry Commerce Association, said his organization opposes the minimum wage increase, as it did when the law tying it to the Consumer Price Index was passed.

"It was a huge increase over a short period of time," he said. Waldman added that the association wanted an "off-ramp" included in the policy, so that the increase does not go into effect when the economy is not doing well.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.