LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Gov. Jerry Brown Wednesday said he supports a bill to increase the state’s minimum wage.
The state Assembly approved a bill, AB 10, which proposes increasing the minimum wage to $10 an hour by 2016.
“It’s going to affect us a lot. It’s a catch-22. It will increase our payroll by a lot,” said Horacio Weschler owner and manager of Lala’s Argentine Grill in Studio City. “If you can stay in business then it’s great, if that will keep us out of business, then that is a horrible problem.”
The president of the Calif. Restaurant Association believes the increase will hurt the already-struggling restaurant industry.
“It’s two kicks in the teeth and a punch in the stomach,” Jot Condie said. “In our industry, the projection of restaurant sales just for this year and likely into next year is anywhere from one to two percent in growth, so it’s essentially flat. When you add a 25 percent increase in labor costs that is a brutal punch for our industry.”
The proposed bill would increase the minimum wage from $8 an hour to $9 an hour by July 1, 2014 and finally $10 an hour by Jan. 1, 2016.
