At Monday evening’s City Council meeting, an ad hoc subcommittee was formed to explore the possibility of raising the city’s minimum wage to $16.04, to match the minimum wage that went into effect in Los Angeles in July 2022.
Due to the previous item, the ordinance banning camping in public places, going deep into the night, it was nearly 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning before the council even began discussing this item. They decided against moving it and, as a result, there were only a small number of public speakers.
Council Member Freddy Puza said that the two items are linked – that homelessness is as big a problem as it is because people aren’t paid a living wage.
A motion to budget $150,000 for a “consultant to conduct an economic impact study and/or hire a consultant as project manager” failed 2-3, with Vice Mayor Yasmine-Imani McMorrin and Council Members Göran Eriksson and Freddy Puza the “nay” votes.
Rather, the council voted in favor of forming an ad hoc subcommittee, consisting of Council Members Dan O’Brien and Freddy Puza, to explore options. That passed 4-0, with Eriksson abstaining.
Eriksson has long been against any increases in the minimum wage, saying in previous meetings that Culver City is so close to Los Angeles that the market takes care of it already.