Posts Tagged: wage

Opinion

Prevailing wage crucial for construction workers

A high-rise construction site in San Jose. (Photo: PBK-PG, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: It is sadly ironic that portions of the construction industry have been fighting for years to reduce wages on these important but dangerous jobs are now claiming they face a skilled labor shortage. Just last year, California’s housing industry spent millions of dollars lobbying against minimum labor standards in any part of the residential construction sector. 

News

The Legislature: Let the sun shine in

Chamber of the state Assembly in the Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: Felix Lipov)

Want to take a deep dive into the California Legislature? You may get your chance. Proposition 54 by Charles Munger Jr. and Sam Blakeslee on the November ballot would force the Legislature to record all its actions and post the video on the web for the public, except for certain proceedings. It would bar lawmakers from acting on any bill until its final form has been published online for at least 72 hours.

Opinion

Minimum wage hike: The costs are higher than you think

Binders and documents relating to wage information. (Photo: Tashatuvango, via Shutterstock)

The California minimum wage increase has been approved. The minimum wage will rise by $1 per hour through 2022, up to $15. There are significant costs to employers, both public and private, besides the $5-per-hour increase. Inflation is one of those costs. Let’s look at the real results and implications of what our elected officials have done to us and for themselves on many levels. And let’s find the unintended consequences.

Opinion

Don’t forget the median wage — and higher

A man addresses a raise-the-minimum-wage demonstration in Los Angeles. (Photo: Dan Holm)

While lawmakers were cutting themselves up over the thorny minimum wage bill this week, a powerful conversation took place three blocks away from the capitol. Industry, union and college leaders were working through the pragmatic next steps on a modest proposal to move more Californians from minimum wage to medium wages and higher.

News

Feds claim wage theft at Silicon Valley firm

Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Anis Uzzaman literally wrote the book on success in Silicon Valley. The CEO and co-founder of Fenox Venture Capital is the author of “Startup Bible: The Silicon Valley Way of Developing Success.” But now the U.S. Department of Labor has thrown the book at his company.

News

November: Ballot props lining up

A California voter casts a ballot. (Photo: Vepar5)

One thing about California’s lineup of looming ballot propositions: You can’t say they aren’t interesting. From school bonds to the environment to condoms to drugs to plastic bags, and more, voters already are set to vote on seven propositions on the November ballot. And many more are in the wings.

News

Words of gloom accompany Brown’s budget

Gov. Brown unveils his 2016-17 budget plan, urging caution about potential economic downturns. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

California’s economy is on the mend and revenues are fat, but Gov. Brown offered some words of gloom as he unveiled a $171 billion budget blueprint for the fiscal year beginning July 1. “If you’re a betting person, you can easily conclude that deficits are more likely than surpluses,” Brown said Thursday as he presented his 2016-17 budget to the Legislature.

Opinion

Yet another minimum-wage hike would cripple business

OPINION: Senate Bill 3, authored by State Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), would enact an unwarranted additional hike in the state’s minimum wage, similar to his measure earlier this year, SB 935, which was a California Chamber of Commerce “Job Killer”. California’s minimum wage was just raised $1 to $9 per hour on July 1 of this year, well above the current $7.25 per hour mandated under federal law.

Opinion

Protecting employers from abusive lawsuits

OPINION: Every once in a while there are glimmers of hope that the California Legislature gets legal reform and the impact it has on the lives of business people throughout the State of California. One of those moments came with the defeat of AB 2416 by State Assemblyman Mark Stone, which would have dramatically increased lawsuits against small business owners.

News

District by district, data tells the tale in California

An abstract rendering of multi-faceted California. (Flip Bjorkman)

While most indicators signal an economic upswing in California, the reality facing many residents of the Golden State is simple: On the ground, the recovery is still sluggish. Nowhere is that more apparent than in a newly developed database that includes detailed economic information on each of California’s 120 legislative districts and 58 counties.

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