ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — A proposed $30 minimum wage — which, if approved, would be the first in the nation — will not be on the November ballot in unincorporated Alameda County after supervisors voted 3-2 to delay it, according to reports.
Instead, the board of supervisors opted to conduct an economic impact study, NBC Bay Area reported.
The choice to push a ballot vote yielded chants of "Shame on you!" from members of the public, with attendees briefly removed from the Aug. 4 meeting, according to the outlet, which noted the measure's supporters collected about 117,000 signatures, qualifying it for a ballot.
"I would be able to afford rent. I wouldn't have to live with my parents. I could afford a car again," a supporter said at a rally for the proposal, KGO reported.
The measure would nearly double the county's minimum wage, with employers needing to reach the $30 threshold between 2030 and 2037, depending on the size of the business, according to NBC Bay Area.
"A sudden jump to $30 an hour minimum wage could force them to close their businesses, cut jobs, raise hours, raise prices or close altogether," Rudy Recile, a Republican candidate running for California's 8th Congressional District, said at a news conference against the proposal, KGO reported.
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