S.F. Workers Stage Labor Day Rally
About 100 factory workers gathered near San Francisco’s Chinatown on Sept. 1 to show their support for Proposition L. The initiative, which will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot, proposes to increase the minimum wage from $6.75 to $8.50 per hour.
The proposal is citywide only. All registered business owners within the city of San Francisco would be required to pay an additional $1.75 per hour for wages, according to Leon Chow of the Chinese Progressive Association.
If the proposal is passed and implemented, San Francisco would be the first city in the United States to have a municipal minimum wage voted in by registered voters through a general election, Chow said. The only other city that has a municipal minimum wage is Santa Fe, N. M., he added.
Several participants in the rally work as garment sewers, said Chow. About 60 percent of the workers who turned out for the rally were non-English speaking, he added. Those who attended participated in a sing-along about workers’ rights and passed out pamphlets to passersby.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez, who is an ardent supporter of the proposal, was among those who attended the rally.
“Prop L is not only about economic justice for low-wage workers, but it will also strengthen the local economy and reduce reliance on public services,” Gonzalez said.
Among the other rally goers were State Assemblyman Leland Yee and San Francisco Board of Education Vice President Eric Mar.
—Claudia Figueroa
