Advocates Seek Raises for the Working Poor

Advocates for the working poor are set to propose ordinances for Ventura County and the city of Oxnard that would require companies doing business with the government to pay their employees substantially more than the minimum wage.

If the measures are adopted, the county and Oxnard would join a growing list of local governments nationwide that require contracting businesses or those that receive subsidies to pay employees enough to keep them above the federal poverty level. The federal minimum wage is $5.15, while the California minimum wage is $5.75.

The proposal, which will be announced next week by the Ventura County Living Wage Coalition, calls for contractors and recipients of more than $25,000 in assistance to pay their employees $8 an hour with benefits or $10 an hour without. The wages, which would be paid to full and part-time workers, were calculated as the amount required to keep a family of four off welfare.

While many elected officials expressed general support for the proposal, some local business leaders called it unrealistic, saying that it could drive companies from the region.

The coalition will file its proposals next week, and the Board of Supervisors and the Oxnard City Council are likely to consider them sometime later this month.