The minimum wage in San Francisco will rise to $11.05 an hour on Jan. 1. The city’s current minimum is $10.74.
The good news was revealed by the city’s mayor, Edwin Lee on Thursday. According to Mayor Lee, the city is all for supporting working families and low-wage earners, declaring his support for “a fair and responsible consensus measure.”
Next week, San Francisco voters will decide on a ballot that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by Jan. 1, 2018. If approved, the proposed minimum wage increase would follow a timeline, indicating the minimum wage in the city at $12.25 per hour by May 1, 2015.
Following the gradual increase, basic wage earners would receive a total annual income of $31,000. San Francisco has the highest minimum wage in the country. The federal standard is currently $7.25 an hour. California’s minimum wage is $9 an hour.
A study conducted by the University of California Berkley revealed that the increase would particularly be beneficial to women and minorities who account for 71 percent of the total number of people to be affected by the wage increase.