(The Center Square) – California voters officially rejected a statewide minimum wage hike for the first time, less than one year after the state’s $20 per hour fast food minimum wage went into effect. The $18 wage would have applied to all workers, not just those in fast food.
Proponents argued that the wage increase is necessary to combat price hikes by corporations, and that raising the minimum wage creates jobs.
“Raising wages doesn’t increase the cost of living—unfair corporate practices do,” said Yes on 32!, which backed the measure. “Research shows that raising the minimum wage puts more money into the economy, creating jobs rather than eliminating them.”
The California Chamber of Commerce said the higher wages would have resulted in higher prices, and that inflation concerns drove Californians to vote no.
“CalChamber opposed Prop. 32 because it would have resulted in higher costs for small business employers and consumers,” said CalChamber President and CEO Jennifer Barrera, whose organization opposed the measure. “With the economy and costs top of mind for many voters this election, that message appears to have resonated.”
In earlier interviews with The Center Square, business leaders shared that even small businesses were affected by the $20 per hour fast food minimum wage, as they compete with major fast food companies for the same pool of entry-level workers. Without the resources to invest in automation like Chipotle, which is now piloting fully automatic burrito-bowl makers and avocado cutters in California, many small businesses have had to reduce hours, cut jobs, or shut down.
More robust data seems to suggest the recent wake hike has negatively impacted employment, but advocates say jobs are unaffected. While California Gov. Newsom has pointed to preliminary jobs data that suggested fast food employment has continued to grow, the Employment Policies Institute has cited adjusted federal jobs data that shows fast food employment is down.
In October California lost 5,500 jobs as the unemployment rate rose to 5.4%, which the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office noted is the highest since the state’s COVID-19 lockdowns. 82,000 fewer Californians are employed now than in May 2023.
Prop. 32 narrowly lost, failing with 49.2% of the statewide vote. The majority of counties voted against the measure, with support limited mostly to coastal or coastal-adjacent counties around, or just north or south of the Bay Area. The highest level of support for Prop. 32 was in San Francisco County, where 71% of voters backed the measure. In Los Angeles County, Prop 32. had the support of 54% of voters.
