$30 an hour by 2030: new pushes to increase minimum wage in New York and California

Oakland and New York campaigns for $30 minimum wage gain steam as workers battle high costs and pushback Mark Dorsey, a lifelong East Oakland resident, works two jobs to make ends meet. The 35-year-old Californian relies on manufacturing and service work through temp agencies and tries to work overtime or 10- to 12-hour shifts because “that’s the only way you can see a paycheck that’s worth something”. Dorsey often makes minimum wage or close to it. The city of Oakland’s minimum wage is currently $17.34 an hour, higher than the minimum wage for the state of California, currently $16.90 an hour, but still not enough to support Dorsey. Now, he is part of a campaign to almost double California’s minimum wage to $30. The drive comes as New York City has a bill tabled to increase its hourly minimum to $30 an hour, backed by Zohran Mamdani, the mayor. The initiatives face powerful opposition from business interests and come against a background of political inaction. Despite widespread public support for minimum wage increases, the federal minimum wage still sits at $7.25 an hour, a rate last increased in 2009. It’s been more than 10 years since the “Fight for $15” movement galvanized wo