SACRAMENTO, CA – California’s Proposition 32 to raise the minimum wage appeared to be rejected with 51.9 percent of votes Nov. 5, according to the California’s Legislature’s Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor.
The “No” statement on this measure means the minimum wage will not rise to $18 per hour on Jan. 1, 2025.
As explained by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, Prop. 32 aimed to raise the state’s minimum wage faster than the original growth trajectory. As 51.9 percent voted for it to not pass, minimum wage will remain adjusted annually based on the inflation rate.
California’s minimum wage is currently $16 per hour with some local governments having higher minimum wages. California’s minimum wage is more than twice the federal rate of $7.25 per hour as stated from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The state has passed recent legislation to increase wages of some workers, setting a new $20 hourly wage floor for fast-food workers and approving gradual pay increases that will eventually guarantee healthcare employees a minimum of $25 per hour, as noted by William Melhado in The Sacramento Bee.
Melhado wrote, “Prop 32’s passage would have immediately increased to $17 for businesses with 26 or more employees. Smaller companies will have to pay $17 an hour beginning next year. The ballot measure, if passed, would have required those larger businesses to pay $18 an hour starting next year. Smaller companies would have until 2026 to make the jump.”
Joe Sanberg, a millionaire supporting the proposition, estimates that if the proposition passed, it would give raises to at least two million California workers that haven’t already benefited from industry-specific raises.
Based on that estimation, Mitch Gruber from City News Service interpreted the voter population as: Many labor groups support the measure, though many say it’s not as high a minimum wage as they’d like. Business groups oppose the measure, arguing that employers are already facing increased costs from inflation and haven’t recovered since COVID.
UC San Diego Political Science Professor Thad Kousser observed that, unlike previous labor-related ballot measures in California, Prop. 32 saw remarkably low campaign spending, with both sides combined raising just $1.8 million—the lowest among all propositions this year.
He also noted that campaigns relied primarily on text messages and podcasts rather than traditional advertising, resulting in voters encountering the measure with fewer preconceived understandings.
“This is a pure public opinion poll,” said Kousser, adding the rejection likely reflects voters’ desire to evaluate recent minimum wage increases.
