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What California's New $15 Minimum Wage Will Mean for Workers, Businesses

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 (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

On Thursday, with the support of Governor Jerry Brown, the California legislature voted to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. A labor-backed measure to raise the wage had been slated for the November ballot, but Brown stepped in and worked out a compromise that rapidly made its way through the legislature. Supporters of the increase would get their $15 an hour, but the wage would rise gradually over the next six years, going into full effect in 2022. While some believe the measure will lift workers out of poverty, others argue it will mean fewer jobs for lowincome Californians. Brown says he will sign the bill on Monday in Los Angeles.

Guests:

Katie Orr, Sacramento politics and government reporter, KQED News

Ken Jacobs, Chair, Center for Labor Research and Education at UC Berkeley

Jeff Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center, University of the Pacific

Diana Furchtgott-Roth, senior fellow, director of Economics21.org, the Manhattan Institute; former chief of staff of President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers.

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