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California Democrats agreed to delay a minimum wage increase for about 426,000 health care workers to help balance the state budget.
The agreement between Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders is part of a broader plan to eliminate a deficit of about $46.8 billion, the second straight year that the nation’s most populous state has run a multibillion-dollar deficit.
Health care workers were due to get a pay raise on July 1 as part of a plan to gradually raise wages to $25 an hour over the next decade. Now, if the state Legislature approves the bill next week, they can get the increase on Oct. 15, but only if Californians’ July-September earnings are at least 3% higher than authorities estimated.
If not, the increase will not start until January 1st at the latest.
The delay preserves a hard-earned victory for one of the state’s largest unions and one of the Democratic Party’s biggest campaign donors. Dave Regan, president of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, said workers were disappointed they would not get a pay raise this summer.
“But we also recognize and appreciate that legislative leaders and the governor listened to us when we stood up and spoke out this year, insisting that, despite a historic budget shortfall, California’s patient care and health care workforce crises must be addressed,” he said in a statement.
The minimum wage for most people in California is $16 an hour, which is already the highest in the country.
The state’s minimum wage for most fast-food workers is $20 an hour, an increase that began in April and has had a ripple effect across the state.
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