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by\u00a0Eli Wolfe<\/a> <\/strong>March 20, 2026 (Oaklandside.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/oaklandside.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_0399-780x585.jpg\")
With the cost of living continuing to soar across the Bay Area, a coalition in Alameda County is trying to persuade residents to mandate higher wages for the workers who struggle most. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Living Wage for All campaign announced Thursday at Understory Oakland in Fruitvale that they are collecting signatures to put two measures on the ballot in Oakland and Alameda County in November. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The measures would require businesses with more than 100 employees and more than $1 million in revenue to increase the minimum wage to $30 by 2030. Smaller businesses would have until 2035 and 2037 to apply those wages. The county initiative would apply to unincorporated parts of the county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Never miss a story.<\/strong> Sign up for The Oaklandside\u2019s free daily newsletter.<\/strong>Email<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oakland voters established a citywide minimum wage in 2014 by passing Measure FF, which also required employers to provide workers with sick leave. Under Measure FF, the city\u2019s minimum was is currently $17.34, although there are certain exceptions to this rule: some hotel workers<\/a> in the city make a slightly higher wage, thanks to Measure Z, and state law now requires some fast food workers<\/a> to make $20 an hour. Oakland voters established the hotel minimum wage law in 2018, which also led to the creation of the city\u2019s Department of Workplace and Employment Standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, wages in the Bay Area aren\u2019t keeping up with the skyrocketing cost of living<\/a>, said Zach Norris, co-executive director of the Black Organizing Project<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn that gap is human suffering,\u201d Norris said at the press conference, citing examples of Black people being pushed out of the Bay Area, teachers sleeping in cars, women suffering through sexual harassment in restaurants to maintain an income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Miriam Medell\u00edn Myers, lead organizer for Trabajadores Unidos Workers United<\/a>, which supports migrant low-wage workers, said the Oakland members of her group are paid the lowest minimum wage in the entire Bay Area, forcing many to work multiple jobs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur members are unhoused or housing insecure simply because the wages aren\u2019t high enough,\u201d she said. \u201c$30 an hour does not fully meet the cost of living for our families, but we believe that it\u2019s the start of a better future for working class families.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the organizations behind the campaign is One Fair Wage<\/a>, a national group that previously fought to increase the minimum wage to $15. That hourly target has been eclipsed by years of rising inflation, which has led to an affordability crisis for many workers, according to Saru Jayaraman, the president of One Fair Wage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Jayaraman, one person in a two-parent two-child household in the Bay Area needs at least<\/a> $44 an hour to support themselves and their family. Last year, her organization helped launch a campaign called \u201cA Living Wage For All<\/a>,\u201d which effectively replaced the longstanding effort to increase the minimum wage to $15. The new campaign\u2019s objective is to increase the minimum wage to $25 across the country, and $30 in areas like Oakland where the cost of living is especially high. Similar campaigns have been building in New York<\/a> and Los Angeles<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlameda County is not alone, but Alameda County is going to be the first to pass a living wage for all in the country,\u201d Jayaraman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To get employers on board, Jayaraman said organizers have been meeting with small businesses to learn what it would take to help them meet a new higher minimum wage. Some potential solutions have included tax credits, support with workers compensation, and help with technical issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt can be done without businesses closing,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re here to tell you, we\u2019ve done the economic analysis, we\u2019ve met with the small businesses, we\u2019ve created the supports to make sure they can get there.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Organizers claim there is strong support for these initiatives. Jayaraman said polling done by Lake Research Partners<\/a> shows that more than 70% of Alameda County voters support gradually raising the minimum wage to $30 an hour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not everyone will be a fan of these initiatives. The pandemic hit Oakland businesses <\/a>hard, and the city is struggling with a persistently high vacancy rate<\/a> for commercial buildings. The City Council recently endorsed putting a measure on the ballot that would give small businesses a tax break<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kavitha Iyengar, a representative for United Auto Workers Region 6, said the campaign is preparing for a fight, noting that \u201cbusinesses and forces from outside Oakland and Alameda County are going to unite to try to beat us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg Hodge, president of the Brotherhood of Elders Network, noted that the push to increase minimum wages dates back to at least the Poor People\u2019s Campaign<\/a>, a 1968 effort organized by Martin Luther King Jr. to demand living wages for people, and was part of the Black Panther Party\u2019s 10 point program<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is for our children, this is for generations who are not yet born, because we know a living wage creates wealth,\u201d Hodge said. \u201cA living wage for all, if we do this properly, pushes back on the 1%, pushes back on the billionaire class.\u201d\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n eli@oaklandside.org<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Eli Wolfe reports on City Hall for The Oaklandside. He was previously a senior reporter for San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight, where he had a beat covering Santa Clara County\u2019s government and transportation. He also worked as an investigative reporter for the Pasadena-based newsroom FairWarning, where he covered labor, consumer protection and transportation issues. He started his journalism career as a freelancer based out of Berkeley. Eli\u2019s stories have appeared in The Atlantic, NBCNews.com, Salon, the San Francisco Chronicle, and elsewhere. Eli graduated from UC Santa Cruz and grew up in San Francisco.More by Eli Wolfe<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Labor and community organizers are aiming high. Some business groups are expected to campaign against a wage hike. Voter approval would be required in November. by\u00a0Eli Wolfe March 20, 2026 (Oaklandside.org) With the cost of living continuing to soar across the Bay Area, a coalition in Alameda County is trying… Continue reading Who\u2019s behind the campaign to raise Oakland\u2019s minimum wage?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Eli Wolfe<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n