Tenth Anniversary Of San Francisco's Minimum Wage Law

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - San Francisco labor leaders celebrated the tenth anniversary of the city's living wage ordinance on Friday.

The law requires businesses with a service contract with San Francisco to pay their employees at least $11.54 an hour or $11.03 for non-profits.

Workers must also be provided health care coverage and at least a dozen paid days off a year.

KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:

Supporters have said that more than 30,000 workers have benefited from the law. One of them is former health care worker Bruce Allison.

"I remember working for $2.50 an hour," he said.

San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi said other cities have followed San Francisco's lead by adopting their own living wage laws.

But he said more has to be done to lower the unemployment rate.

"We want to make sure that people are not going to be unemployed and that they have access to both the job training and hopefully a job at the end of their training," Mirkarimi said. "So that requires a coordination that doesn't exist right now."

Mirkarimi said he's concerned by the rising cost of living in San Francisco and a growing number of people who fall below the federal poverty line.

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