Ed Lee backs significant increase in minimum wage

Mayor Ed Lee is working with a group of small-business owners, labor and community leaders on crafting a measure to put before voters in November. Mayor Ed Lee is working with a group of small-business owners, labor and community leaders on crafting a measure to put before voters in November. Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Ed Lee backs significant increase in minimum wage 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Count Mayor Ed Lee among the convinced.

After a wave of protests across the country by fast food chain workers for a $15-per-hour minimum wage, and calls from the White House to Silicon Valley for increases in base pay for low-wage workers, Lee said Tuesday he wants voters to significantly raise the minimum wage in San Francisco.

"San Francisco is an expensive place for working families," Lee said in a statement sent out less than 24 hours after he returned from a trip to Asia. "I believe the time has come to bring an increase in the minimum wage to the voters, and I will support a ballot initiative in 2014 that significantly raises the minimum wage to help San Francisco's lowest paid workers keep pace with rising consumer costs."

Exactly how high Lee wants to see the city's minimum wage rise is unclear, but he said the call for a $15-per-hour minimum wage is "worth evaluating."

"I will ask ... for a thoughtful analysis of how an increase in the rate will affect our economy, businesses and workers," Lee said in a statement. "I know that a few more dollars an hour can make a big difference to working families, and San Francisco should lead by example."

San Francisco already has the highest minimum wage in the country, currently $10.55 an hour and set to rise to $10.74 on Jan. 1. The state minimum wage is $8 an hour, and the federal minimum is $7.25 per hour.

President Obama has called for the federal minimum wage to rise to $10.10 per hour, and Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation increasing the minimum wage to $9 per hour by July 2014 and to $10 per hour by January 2016. Ron Unz, a wealthy Silicon Valley businessman, recently submitted language for a state ballot measure that would raise the minimum wage to $12 per hour.

'Issue of our time'

"Economic inequality is the issue of our time," said Gabriel Metcalf, executive director of SPUR, a San Francisco smart-growth think tank. "For the most part, the solutions have to come from the national level, but this is one thing we can actually do constructively at the local level."

San Francisco's approach will be vintage Lee - bringing in disparate groups, including business, labor and advocates, and hammering out a consensus measure.

"We'll do this the Ed Lee way," said the mayor's spokeswoman, Christine Falvey. "Get everybody in the room."

Lee's announcement took some in City Hall by surprise, but Board of Supervisors President David Chiu tweeted in the middle of a board meeting: "Look forward to working with@MayorEdLee to ask voters to raise San Francisco's minimum wage - our working families deserve more."

Exactly what the approach will entail is unclear, as is whether the measure will be directed toward the June or November ballot.

"All the details need to be figured out," said Metcalf, whose group has been looking at raising the minimum wage for some time. "All we've got so far is a concept."

The effort comes amid not only a national debate over what low-wage workers are paid, but also during a uniquely San Francisco problem - soaring housing prices that have led to evictions and rent increases as the local economy takes flight fueled by technology companies, tourism and hospitality.

A substantial increase in the minimum wage like the one the mayor is considering is expected to cause concern among businesses with traditionally lower wage workers and sometimes thin profit margins, including restaurants.

Considering tips

One option to consider is some mechanism to count tips, or a portion of them, toward the minimum wage, Metcalf said.

There is also the potential to drive up prices.

"Some of this will translate into higher prices paid by consumers, and I think we need to acknowledge some trade-offs," Metcalf said. "But it looks promising to me that the benefits might outweigh the downside."