FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Federation of Independent Business/California
Contact: Shawn Lewis (916) 342-9315; [email protected]
NFIB Announces
Opposition to State Minimum Wage Hikes
SACRAMENTO, Calif., March
15, 2016 – At their semi-annual statewide Leadership Council meeting last week,
NFIB/CA formally moved to oppose two pending ballot initiatives filed by SEIU
and SEIU-UHW which would raise the state minimum wage to $15 per hour.
“Small
businesses in California face increased costs and burdens in the form of
mandates and regulations every single day,” said NFIB/CA State Executive Director Tom Scott. “Small business owners
are still adjusting to the 11% minimum wage increase just this year—now is not
the time to pile on another minimum wage hike.”
Tom Scott added, “Let’s be clear: the impacts
of a minimum wage hike extend beyond private small businesses. Non-profits,
retirees, and governmental entities are directly impacted as their budgets do
not have natural mechanisms to raise revenues. This is in part why Governor
Brown agrees: we, both small businesses and California public agencies, cannot
afford another state minimum wage hike at this time.”
Last year,
Governor Brown’s Department of Finance estimated a state increase to just
$13.00 per hour would increase costs to various state agencies by at least $4.7
billion over three years—in addition to fiscal impacts on individuals and
businesses. Governor Brown also
commented, “Raise the minimum wage too much and you put a lot of poor people
out of work…There won’t be a lot of jobs. It’s a matter of balance.”
99.2% of businesses in California are small business, many of
which would not be able to continue operating at their current level with a $15
state minimum wage. Seattle is already seeing significant job loss and stagnation
following their $15 minimum wage hike, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Representing the largest number of small businesses in California,
NFIB opposes any state initiative raising the minimum wage.
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For more than 70 years, the National
Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking
the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures.
NFIB has 350,000 dues-paying members nationally, with over 22,000 in
California. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital
to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. To
learn more visit www.NFIB.com/california
