Proposed Minimum Wage Increase To $15 Gives Workers Hope

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — It's almost been a year since Sheila Fitzpatrick last worked.

She was diagnosed with leukemia in 2015 and had to quit her job.

With the proposed minimum wage increase, Sheila has a new sense of hope.

"We just need to get caught up with the cost of living, I think it's due."

Esmeralda Medina is concerned a minimum wage hike won't solve any problems, and says "The living cost is going to go up, everything is going to go up and it's just going to plateau. We are going to be in the same place now."

According to a recent State poll, 81 percent of California voters say the gap between the rich and poor is widening, and 58-percent of voters around the country believe the government should do more to bridge that gap.

California Consumers Against Higher Prices opposes the hike, issuing this statement, on Sunday:  "If this overreaching deal is passed .. It will result in devastating impacts to family-run businesses, education, working families and more."

But for Sheila -- who is also a mother -- the possibility of any increase is invaluable.

"It helps with gas, I can get my son from across town…just that little bit helps."

Businesses with less than 25 employees have until 2023 to pay their workers 15-dollars an hour.