Newsom's signing of the law means medical technicians, nursing assistants, custodians and other support staff will see a gradual wage hike that rolls out starting next year. He got behind the law on the same day that unions representing lower-paid Kaiser Permanente employees announced a new contract with a $25 minimum wage for the health care giant's California workers.
Tia Orr, executive director of SEIU California, told CalMatters: "Californians saw the courage and commitment of healthcare workers during the pandemic, and now that same fearlessness and commitment to patients is responsible for a historic investment in the workers who make our health care system strong and accessible to all.
Newsom's approval of the new minimum wage for medical workers follows his signature on a separate law mandating a new pay floor for fast-food workers. Starting next April, fast food employees will make at least $20 an hour.
Between the two new industry-specific minimum wage increases, about 900,000 Californians are expected to see their pay climb thanks to new state laws.
The victory for health workers was long in the making. It unfolded in the final days of the legislative year when the hospital lobby and health care providers announced a rare deal with labor unions.
Health care employers got behind the plan to raise the minimum wage for their industry, and unions agreed to a 10-year moratorium on sponsoring local ballot measures to force pay raises at hospitals and other medical facilities.
