Oakland organizers with the Living Wage for All Coalition are pushing to increase the city’s minimum wage in phases to $30 dollars an hour by 2037.
Oakland’s Rules and Regulations Committee voted last Thursday to bring the new minimum wage measure to the full city council in December.
“The cost of living is astronomical," said Keala Uchoa, communications manager with the Black Organizing Project, which helped lead the effort. "It is just completely out of pace with wages that have remained stagnant for decades. I’ve watched every single one of my family members be displaced here because of the rising cost of living. Enough is enough. We need it now.”
When the measure comes to the full council on December 1, members could adopt the initiative directly, or put it on the ballot for voters, or they could request an economic impact study before making their final decision.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted in September to put a similar measure on the ballot for March 2028. But organizers are pushing to hold a special election earlier than that.
