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Prop 32

Raise state minimum wage to $18 an hour

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What did voters decide?

What would it do?

Proposition 32 would raise the minimum wage to $17 for the remainder of 2024, and $18 an hour starting in January 2025 — a bump from the current $16. Small businesses with 25 or fewer employees would be required to start paying at least $17 next year, and $18 in 2026. If voters say “yes,” California will have the nation’s highest state minimum wage.

Starting in 2027, the wage would be adjusted based on inflation, as the state already does. The hike would apply statewide, but it would have a bigger effect in some areas than in others. Nearly 40 California cities have local minimum wages that are higher than the state’s, including six that already require at least $18 and several already are just a small inflationary adjustment away from it.

Why is it on the ballot?

In 2022, California became the first state to reach a $15 minimum wage — a figure long fought for by unions and restaurant workers. But labor activists say the state’s sky-high cost of living has already made that standard barely livable. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, even in the cheapest California county (Modoc), a single adult with no children would need to make at least $20.32 an hour to comfortably afford the basics. The statewide average? $27.32.

Wealthy startup-investor-turned-anti-poverty-advocate Joe Sanberg first pushed an $18 minimum wage three years ago, and poured $10 million into a signature-gathering effort to qualify the measure for the 2022 ballot. The measure included more gradual wage hikes starting in 2023. But the campaign missed a key deadline, pushing it to this year’s ballot. That means a quicker hike to $18 in January if voters approve the measure in November.

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For

$993.3K raised

Labor groups support the measure, though many say it’s not as high a minimum wage as they’d like. Sanberg estimates it would give raises to 2 million workers statewide who haven’t yet benefitted from industry-specific raises, or don’t live in cities that require a higher wage. Supporters also argue the money would help families afford basic needs, would be spent at local businesses and would help reduce low-income Californians’ use of taxpayer-provided benefits. UC Berkeley studies have found that California’s gradual increase to $15 had “no significant” effect on job losses.

Supporters
  • California Labor Federation
  • Unite Here
  • One Fair Wage
  • Working Families Party California
  • United Farm Workers
  • California Democratic Party
  • League of Women Voters of California
Media Endorsements

Against

$855.1K raised

Business groups oppose the measure. They argue employers already face increased supply and labor costs from inflation and that for some, business hasn’t bounced back fully since the COVID pandemic. They point to the state government itself, which, facing a budget deficit, delayed a $25 health care worker minimum wage until this fall to see if it has the cash to cover it, and argue private employers should get the same benefit. They also point to surveys commissioned by the small city of West Hollywood, where 42% of businesses said they laid off staff or cut workers’ hours in response to the city’s $19.08 minimum wage.

Opponents
  • California Chamber of Commerce
  • California Restaurant Association
  • California Grocers Association
  • National Federation of Independent Business
  • California Republican Party
  • Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Media Endorsements

Commentary

For

Kitchen workers are in a commercial kitchen, preparing food. One is on the left, and is in front of a long white cutting board, with an ingredients fridge at the front. The second worker is towards the rear and right.

Many California workers can’t ask for better pay. Prop. 32 lets voters speak for them

by Victor Moreno

Against

A small-town street with historical-style buildings, including a sign reading "Main Small." The shops have various awnings and signs, and the street is lined with parked cars under a clear blue sky.

Why raising the minimum wage won’t make California more affordable

by Jim Relles

YouTube video

Funders

Polling Data

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