SAN DIEGO — Voters will decide in the November election whether minimum wage workers get a pay increase in California. One of 10 ballot measures in November, Proposition 32 hopes to raise the hourly wage to $18 per hour from its current minimum wage of $16 per hour.
“Not just teenagers are working at a minimum wage, some people are trying to support families on a minimum wage job or two,” University of San Diego Economics Professor Alan Gin said.
Prop. 32 is one of 10 statewide measures included on the ballot. Gin explains that if passed, this proposition could impact how local businesses operate.
“They are going to have to pay their workers more, they may respond by raising prices or scaling back on workforce, hours, things like that,” Gin said.
Gretchen Brown works at a grocery store in San Diego, She said that if this measure passes, it would mean she will have more freedom to go out.
“It's so expensive to live here, gas is up… groceries are up, obviously, so it would be good,” Brown said.
Meanwhile, some people fear they will be paying more at checkout as businesses adjust to the change.
“Companies have to adjust their prices to meet the need to be able to pay their employees,” San Diego resident Virginia Pittman said.
Some supporters of this measure argue this measure will allow minimum wage workers to live a better quality of life and ease their financial burden.
“So yes, things might go up just a tad bit but at the same time the quality of life for anyone working minimum wage will go up significantly with that,” Andre Eng said.
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