Laserfiche WebLink
Living wage laws given mixed review Page 2 of 2 <br />~, <br />last year. The national minimum wage is $5.15. <br />The median hourly wage of California workers in 2003 was $14.40, according to the non-profit California Budget Project. <br />Last year, San Francisco and Santa Fe, N.M. enacted citywide minimum wages much higher than the state and national <br />requirements. San Francisco's minimum hourly wage is $8.62 for most businesses; $7.75 for small businesses and non- <br />profits. <br />Local representatives of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which has led efforts to <br />enact living wage laws across the United States, were not immediately available for comment Tuesday. The San Jose <br />Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce also had no immediate comment. <br />The PPIC is a private, non-profit and non-partisan research organization established in 1994 with a grant from William R. <br />Hewlett. It had studied living wage laws in 2002, and made the same conclusions. <br />Newmark said the group decided to take another look for a few reasons, including: More living wage laws have been <br />enacted since then; earlier ones have been around longer; and the national economy has been through a recession that <br />may not have registered in the data available before. <br />Contact John Woolfolk at jwoolfolk@mercurynews.com or (408) 278-3410. <br />~~~~~ ~ ~ ~.`<) 9D0~ 'vtercurvhe«~s.com and ~cire sen~ire wurci. All Itigh~s Re~en mod. <br />http:~ ~~. ~~~~~anarcurvnews.cbm <br />http ://www.rnercurynews. com/mld/mercuryn ews/news/locaU 12011721.htm?template=cont... 6/29/2005 <br />