Burlingame ups minimum wage

Councilmembers supporting the proposal claimed it was due time Burlingame lent a hand to the most vulnerable segment of the city’s workforce, while critics claimed the additional expense would compound challenges for small business owners.

“We need to help the poorest members of the community sooner than later,” said Mayor Emily Beach during the meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8.

O’Brien offered an alternative perspective on the timing of the proposal though, noting so many independent companies are barely scraping by in a economy devastated by COVID-19.

“I think right now is the worst time for us to do this,” she said.

Under the decision, Burlingame businesses will mandated to pay the $15 minimum wage by the start of 2021. 

San Mateo officials in 2016 were the first locally to adopt the wage hike and many other cities throughout the county have adopted similar policies since, including Redwood City, Belmont, South San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.

The state’s current minimum wage rate is $13 per hour for businesses with 26 or more employees and $12 per hour for businesses with 25 or fewer employees. A new law raises the minimum wage $1 per hour each year until the final target of $15 per hour at the start of 2023.

A survey of local residents indicated most Burlingame residents favored the pay hike, while merchants were largely split on the proposal. Many who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, particularly those from labor unions, supported the wage increase.

While harboring deep reservations regarding the added challenge facing small business owners, Colson said she felt the city’s proposed pay raise included a carveout for unions which heightened her frustration.

The city’s proposal allows unions to pay less than minimum wage in collectively bargained agreements, while private employers would enjoy no escape clause from the obligation to pay the higher rate.

Noting it is unlikely that unions would negotiate for lower rates, Colson suggested such arrangements may be considered if it’s meant more jobs could be preserved. With no similar exemption for non-union jobs, Colson took issue with the perceived double standard.

More broadly though, she deferred to the collective wisdom of businesses challenged by the pandemic doing what they need to survive.

“Businesses in this town are compassionate and they do the best they can and I’m a little apprehensive to get government regulation in the middle of COVID-19,” she said.

With his colleagues split evenly on the issue, Councilman Ricardo Ortiz was the swing vote in favor of raising the minimum wage. And while he acknowledged the concerns of those opposing the initiative, he was ultimately swayed by the benefit offered to low-income workers.

“I think the timing is off. I wish we could do it to start in six months, but it wouldn’t make sense,” he said. “So I’m fine with it.”

Beach took a firmer stance on the issue, claiming the raise was a principled gesture to help close the wage gap that exists in the county generally and city specifically.

“It’s the right thing to do,” she said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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Note to readers: this article has been corrected. All businesses will be required to pay $15 per hour wage by 2021.