VICTORY: Berkeley, California raises minimum wage to $12.53

Berkeley, California’s minimum wage was the state-mandated $8.00 per hour, which had not been updated since 2007. The proposal sent to the city council included a gradual increase to $13.34 by 2022 with a faster acceleration for corporations and chains, annual cost of living adjustments and health care benefits worth at least $2.22 per hour starting in 2015.

The Berkeley City Council voted to increase the minimum wage to $12.53, rolled out over a 2 year period with annual increases to follow. This victory means 5000 a year in the pockets of low-wage working families that will flow directly into our local economy improving the lives of tens of thousands of people.