Measures establishing a $25 minimum hourly wage for workers at private healthcare facilities will be placed before voters in two California cities.
Measure HC is on the November ballot for Inglewood, Calif., as is Measure J for Duarte, Calif., according to Becky Warren, a spokesperson for the campaigns against the measures.
The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West has pushed for measures in these and other California cities establishing a $25 minimum hourly wage for workers at private healthcare facilities. The union has said raising the minimum wage would help address workforce challenges. The California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems — which is affiliated with the California Hospital Association and has sponsored campaigns against the measures — has called such ordinances "deeply flawed" and "inequitable," saying they exclude many healthcare workers.
In Inglewood and Duarte, the union submitted enough valid signatures to put the minimum wage increase on the ballot. Ms. Warren said the city councils were then required by law to adopt the initiative or put it before voters.