Minimum wage wars Minimum wage wars (June 17, 2005)

Lieber resurrects vetoed bill

By Jon Wiener

If at first Sally Lieber doesn't succeed, she tries aiming higher.

Last year, the state Assembly member's bill to raise the $6.75 per hour minimum wage by $1 over two years passed both houses of the Legislature by wide margins but ran up against the governor's veto.

Lacking the votes to override, she thought about toning it down, but instead she came back with an extra demand, adding a provision that would tie the minimum wage to the consumer price index.

The new bill passed the Assembly 49-30 last week, garnering two votes from the other side of the aisle. The threat of a veto still looms in the future, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's falling opinion rating and the prospect of negative press could give her a better shot this year.

"I'd like to get his signature on it, but I'm realistic about things," said Lieber.

A spokesperson for the governor said he has not taken a position on the new bill, but pointed to last year's veto message. In it, Schwarzenegger wrote that raising the minimum wage "would create barriers to our economic recovery or reverse the momentum we have generated."

Lieber said that increases to the minimum wage generally result in increases in economic activity, since most of that money is spent on necessities rather than saved. The bill would directly affect about 1.5 million workers statewide, according to Lieber.

"We have a small but important group of workers, that are predominantly women of color who lack English skills, who aren't making enough to support their families, even though they're working full-time," she said.

Lieber said she has discussed the issue with the governor's staffers and believes they might agree to a bill that allowed restaurants to pay servers a lesser amount because they receive tips -- a compromise she is not willing to make.

The broad coalition of business interests that opposed the bill last year is again lining up against it. Meanwhile, labor unions are discussing a potential ballot initiative for next year if Lieber's bill fails.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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