Panel split over wage boost

A state wage board deadlocked Friday on a recommendation to raise California's minimum wage to $9.78 per hour.

The Wage Board, a 13-member body charged with determining an adequate wage to meet the high cost of living in California, also deadlocked on whether to bind wage increases to inflation.

"As a member, I feel we have failed in our charge," said Angie Wei, legislative director for the California Labor Federation who proposed the $9.78 hourly rate -- a $3.03 increase from the current state minimum wage of $6.75 an hour.

The Wage Board was set up by the state's Industrial Welfare Commission to make recommendations on whether to increase the minimum wage.

But the board -- which consists of six members representing employers, six representing workers, and one nonvoting chairman -- deadlocked on every question. The results of Friday's daylong meeting will be reported to the Welfare Commission on Aug. 24.

Using a four-decade-old formula adjusted for inflation, Wei suggested a single woman needs $9.78 per hour to sustain herself. The hypothetical formula, known as "Minnie's budget," was put forth by labor representatives in 1961 to help determine what the minimum hourly wage should be. Then it was $1.37.

Employer advocates maintained that the state's current minimum wage is adequate.

Julianne Broyles, a lobbyist for the California Chamber of Commerce, said the proposed increase to $9.78 an hour would have a broad economic impact, costing employers an additional $6,302 per employee each year.

While the two sides could not agree on pay, they did agree the state currently lacks a good formula for deciding what the appropriate minimum wage should be.

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• The Bee's Judy Lin can be reached at (916) 321-1115 or jlin@sacbee.com.