Council OKs minimum wage of $25 for some hospitality workers, despite opposition

Crowds flow into the San Diego Convention Center for Comic-Con The center is one of the sites where workers wages will rise beginning July File photo by Adrian Childress Times of San Diego The San Diego City Council agreed Tuesday to raise the minimum wage for selected hospitality workers to an hour in phases that begin next year A proposal that initially was intended to institute higher wages for all workers in San Diego s tourism industry reappeared Tuesday with a great number of carve-outs and the altered timeline The council passed it - with Councilman Raul Campillo absent Opposition to the increase came from owners of businesses of all sizes from multinational hotel chains to small sports rental companies Administrators from those businesses who spoke during the council meeting s populace comment period claimed again and again that the move would cause a crash in the tourism industry and automation tha twill eliminate workers jobs Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera who pushed for the wage increase stated he thought those arguments fell flat noting that prices of goods and services are already increasing Opponents talked about picking winners and losers Elo-Rivera noted Guess what There are already winners They are the billionaires and millionaires So if we re forced to choose a winner you re damn right I m choosing the workers The ordinance dictates that workers at hospitality employers which include hotels with at least guest rooms amusement parks and event centers would see a raise from the city s current minimum wage of an hour to a higher wage on July The phases for the higher wage depend upon the sector in which the workers are employed For event centers the wage rises to next year then to in in in and eventually in For hotels and amusement parks workers will be paid in in in in and in There are hotels the measure would impact around of the city s hotels motels and bed and breakfasts Specific opponents believe those numbers will produce dire results According to the Employment Policies Institute the new wage mandate will lead to a increase in operating costs for hospitality businesses The institute also has researched the statewide fast food minimum wage finding that it contributed to the loss of nearly jobs in two years while increasing menu prices and causing several restaurants to close or stop expanding The present day the City Council chose to ignore the local and statewide experience that severe minimum wage hikes have caused tens of thousands of Californians to lose their jobs commented Rebekah Paxson research director at the institute in a news release San Diego will be no exception to this trend Instead of repeating failed policies that put workers at pitfall local lawmakers should be heeding the cautionary tales surrounding them The proposal unanimously passed the Select Committee on Addressing Cost of Living in June Elo-Rivera has had little sympathy for job loss suggests during the debate over the plan This is not radical this is what basic dignity demands Elo-Rivera commented at the time before denouncing comments from particular of the city s largest businesses that such a proposal would cost tens of thousands of jobs We ve heard these scare tactics before Every time they say the sky will fall and every time they are wrong Particular of the venues impacted by the proposal include city-owned Petco Park Pechanga Arena San Diego the San Diego Convention Center and Civic Theatre along with large hotels such as the Manchester Grand Hyatt and Marriott Marquis among others But not every entity would have to pay the higher wages San Diego State University owned by the state of California would find itself exempt for Viejas Arena and the Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheatre The San Diego Zoo is exempt from the measure but SeaWorld San Diego is not Councilwoman Vivian Moreno who supported the motion argued that it should apply to all workers including those who work for the city itself She called the move a step in the right direction but added that it would have a disproportionate impact on the tourism industry Chris Cate president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and a former city councilman noted while he opposed the action he did appreciate the fact that it is more expensive to live in San Diego than it used to be He revealed however that penalizing the business society was the wrong way to go about fixing that despite calling the wage rise well-intentioned We are deeply disappointed by in the current era s City Council vote to approve the minimum wage mandate he mentioned This shortsighted framework will drive up costs for businesses and families alike adding to the already high cost of living in San Diego without addressing the region s underlying affordability problem A review from the city s Independent Budget Analyst s office didn t take a side noting that while the move could benefit workers it could also negatively impact the financial sector as businesses contract to cover higher overhead from labor The current economic circumstances is particularly uncertain a representative from the IBA s office noted There is no clear consensus Since the council adopted the Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance in the minimum wage within the city s boundaries has increased from to higher than California s hourly rate and far higher than the nation s per hour mark However the cost of living in San Diego has increased independently of the minimum wage According to the Massachusetts Institute of Hardware s Living Wage Calculator a single person would need to earn per hour in San Diego County to patronage themselves while working full-time A two-adult and one-child household would need to earn per hour by the same calculator Mikey Knab co-founder of Business For Good a nonprofit business collective advocating for pro-worker business policies commented he backed the proposal wholeheartedly We know from experience that higher wages strengthen local businesses and neighborhoods he commented A tourism wage keeps money circulating in San Diego and builds shared prosperity for everyone When the idea was pitched earlier this year one San Diego institution balked at the anticipated costs Caroline Perry chief operating officer of the San Diego Padres noted that the unit pays the highest mandated wage in Major League Baseball through the city s Living Wage Ordinance which adjusts annually for inflation She called the new proposal too extreme It would drive up the cost of living make it harder for San Diegans to attend games and hurt the local businesses that rely on Petco Park she stated We urge the City Council to reject it The Padres broke their single-season franchise attendance record in drawing fans to Petco Park The franchise is valued at billion more than triple what the late Peter Seidler paid for the gang in according to Forbes Being San Diego s squad means standing with San Diegans not against them Elo-Rivera announced