Report: California to Raise Minimum Wage to US$15 by 2022

California’s minimum wage will be raised to US$15 an hour over the next few years after lawmakers and union leaders reached a deal Saturday night, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The paper said the deal will see the minimum wage increased from US$10 to US$10.50 an hour in 2017 and will increase by US$1 every year after that until reaching $15 an hour in 2022.

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State Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to make the formal announcement as early as Monday, the L.A. Times said.

One state lawmaker confirmed the deal but not the details. "The governor and stakeholders have all been negotiating earnestly and in good faith for some time," state Sen. Mark Leno told the Associated Press.

By securing the deal, the state government avoided a political face-off as union leaders had previously threatened to take the issue to a referendum as many in the state showed support for a minimum wage increase.

The issue of minimum wage has been also at the center of the Democratic presidential primaries as both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton support an increase for the federal minimum wage, currently at US$7.75. Sanders vows to increase it to US$15 while Clinton wants it to become US$12.

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