Los Angeles Times
June 17, 2004
Berkeley’s Living Wage Ordinance Is Upheld in Federal Appeals Court
By Henry Weinstein
A federal appeals court in San Francisco on Wednesday upheld Berkeley’s authority to require higher minimum wages for some workers, the first appellate ruling in the country on whether local governments have that power.
Berkeley’s law, enacted in June 2000, is fairly typical of living wage ordinances adopted nationally. The law mandated minimum hourly wages and employee benefits for certain companies that received financial benefits from the city such as city contracts, leases on city property or certain tax exemptions.
The Berkeley law set a minimum wage of $9.75 plus health benefits for those companies. Firms covered by the law but that did not provide health benefits were required to pay $11.37 an hour. The figures have risen with inflation.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/scotus/la-me-wage17jun17,1,1268555.story?coll=la-news-politics-supreme_court
Comment: This U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling was split along ideological lines with two Clinton appointees supporting it and a Bush appointee opposing it. This is a minute and tenuous increment on the path toward universal health care coverage and access.
The political process remains dominated by forces that have only increased the numbers of uninsured, and have increased the risk of medical debt for those who are insured.
It is inappropriate to stop and celebrate a tiny victory when the health financing infrastructure is crumbling around us. We know how to build a financing infrastructure that would ensure affordable, comprehensive coverage and access for everyone. Let’s get on with it!