California’s minimum wage is $6.75 an hour.  Although our cost of living is sky-high, we have the lowest minimum wage of any state on the West Coast. Our minimum wage is not enough to allow a working family to afford basics like housing and healthcare.

After vetoing minimum wage increases for two years in a row, Governor Schwarzenegger now says he supports raising the wage this year, but refuses to include annual cost-of-living adjustments.  

Low-wage workers should not have to wait for an election year for an increase in the minimum wage. Please urge Governor Schwarzenegger to increase the minimum wage and index it to the cost of living.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Although California's cost of living is sky-high, we have the lowest minimum wage of any state on the West Coast.

Our minimum wage is not enough to allow a working family to afford basics like housing and healthcare in California. California needs to both raise the minimum wage and index it to the cost-of-living.

Since you took office, the purchasing power of the minimum wage has eroded by nearly 10%. The only way to help minimum wage earners keep up is to guarantee annual cost-of-living adjustments.

Basic necessities are increasing in our state. From 2000 to 2005, the cost of renting an apartment increased 45 percent, the cost of a gallon of gas increased 44 percent and the cost of a gallon of milk increased 23 percent.

A majority of Californians believe we should join the growing list of states, like Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and Florida that have cost-of-living adjustments to their minimum wage.

I urge you to support efforts to increase and index the minimum wage to the cost-of-living.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
January 25, 2006