By a vote of 4-1-1 last night, the Sunnyvale City Council chose to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018, four years sooner than mandated by California’s new minimum wage law. Sunnyvale is the first city in California to advance the timeline by which it gets to the $15 minimum wage since Governor Brown signed the legislation into law earlier this month.
The extraordinarily high cost of living in Silicon Valley makes it nearly impossible for minimum wage earners to pay rent and put food on the table. For these workers, getting to $15 an hour faster than required by the state means a greater ability to pay for their basic needs.
Yesterday’s decision, led in large part by Councilmembers Jim Davis and Jim Griffith, is a perfect example of a City Council understanding the needs of its families and moving forward with policies that help its residents. Joining Councilmembers Davis and Griffith in support of $15 by 2018 were Vice Mayor Gustav Larsson and Councilmember Tara Martin-Milius. Mayor Glenn Hendricks was the sole no vote and Councilmember Pat Meyering abstained.
Sunnyvale’s decision to join Mountain View in raising the minimum wage faster than the state’s $15 by 2022 puts pressure on other regional cities, like San Jose, to keep up.
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