The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West says a raise would help retain workers who could land comparable positions at Amazon or fast-food restaurants amid labor shortages.
Spending on the fight over the minimum wage proposals in Southern California has reached nearly $22 million. According to state campaign finance filings, SEIU-UHW has spent nearly $11 million across all 10 cities. Hospitals and health facilities have also spent almost $11 million to defeat minimum wage proposals.
, and wins like that are harder to pull off than they once were, said Bill Sokol, a labor lawyer who has worked with SEIU-UHW. If voters in Inglewood and Duarte pass the $25 minimum wage, the effect would be limited. Workers at state- and county-run medical facilities aren’t covered by city ordinances, so the local measures wouldn’t apply. That means it excludes workers who do the same jobs at public hospitals, clinics, and health care facilities.
“In the end, who ends up paying for that? Consumers do,” Spetz said. “Maybe you’ll cut into the profit margins of a publicly traded company a little bit, but the reality is those companies have been pretty good at figuring out how to keep their revenues and profitability up.”