Press Release: May 25, 2004
Higher County Living Wage Sought
Supporters Cite New UC Study Showing That Low-Wage Employers Cost California Taxpayers $10 Billion a Year

Dozens of janitors were joined today by labor, academic and community advocates in demanding an increase in the Los Angeles County living wage.

At a press conference and rally outside the Board of Supervisors meeting, representatives from SEIU Local 1877, the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education and the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) called upon lawmakers to amend the county’s living wage ordinance to include annual cost-of-living increases.

The Board of Supervisors passed the law in 1999 to ensure that workers employed by county contractors earned enough to support themselves without public assistance from the county. The living wage rate, however, has never been adjusted. As a result, hundreds of county workers actually qualify for county assistance, saddling taxpayers with subsidies for low-wage employers.

“It’s time to fix the county’s living wage law,” said Carolina Briones, LAANE’s research director. “No one employed by the county or its contractors should have to rely on public assistance to get by. And county taxpayers should not be asked to subsidize poverty wages.”

A new study released last week shows that such subsidies cost California taxpayers $10 billion every year. Hundreds of thousands of full-time workers are forced to use public health services and other programs because they receive no health care and inadequate wages.

The report, released May 20 by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, finds that nearly half the money from the 10 largest statewide public assistance programs went to families with at least one full-time worker. It also finds that if paid more, workers would not need to turn to county, city and state programs for assistance. More than half of the working families receiving public assistance live in the Los Angeles area.

“We all know that things are less expensive on the front end than the back end,” said Mike Garcia, President of SEIU Local 1877 (Justice for Janitors). “We’re urging the county to take some leadership on this issue and make sure that workers like the janitors at county health facilities can support their families.”

Esthela Aguiano, who has worked ten years for a county janitorial contractor, said that the company does not provide health insurance for kids, forcing her to rely on government health care. “I am here today to ask the county to ensure that all workers have health insurance and decent wages. We are asking that the county do what it called on private companies to do and make sure that workers can take care of their families and themselves.”