The five former San Diego City Council members who pushed through the "Living Wage" ordinance in 2005 gathered today for a celebration of the law's 10-year anniversary, along with union leaders and other supporters.
Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, told the crowd outside City Hall that passing the ordinance, which sets a minimum hourly wage for employees of companies that provide services to the city, was one of the two or three things she's most proud of accomplishing when she was a council member.
"This action made a real difference in the lives of real people who deserve it — who work hard," Atkins said.
When it was passed, the ordinance set a living hourly wage at $12 for contractors performing at least $500,000 worth of work for the city. The figure has since climbed to $14.17 an hour and is due to go up to $14.43 an hour on July 1.
Claire Crawford, of the Center on Policy Initiatives — which advocates for workers' rights — estimated that 2,300 people in San Diego benefit from the ordinance. Those people can work only one job, acquire health care and have time to raise their children, she said.
The ordinance passed by a 5-4 vote in April 2005, with Atkins and then-Council members Donna Frye, Ralph Inzunza, Tony Young and Michael Zucchet in favor.
Among the opponents, then-Mayor Dick Murphy said the city faced too much fiscal uncertainty to adopt such an ordinance. The city was mired in financial woes at the time that resulted in its credit rating being suspended.
