NEW YORK: The regional wave toward a higher minimum wage this week swept through Palo Alto, where city officials set aside their differences and happily united behind a law setting the local rate at $11 an hour.The proposal follows in the footsteps of Mountain View and Sunnyvale, each of which last falls adopted a minimum wage of $10.30 an hour a rate that will be adjusted every year based on the Consumer Price Index.
Palo Alto officials went beyond that and set the wage at $11, while agreeing to join the other two cities in pursuing the goal of a $15 wage by 2018.”We are in the right place to be going through this experiment,” proclaimed Vice Mayor Greg Schmid, citing data suggesting that a minimum wage in a high-income area does not hurt the economy.
Others agreed that the higher wage is a no-brainer decision. Councilman Tom DuBois called the decision “pretty simple” and observed that the minimum wage hasn’t caught up with the cost of living in the area. Councilman Greg Scharff called the plan to start with $11 and keep an eye on $15 a “measured and reasonable approach” and said he supports regional cooperation on the issue.
