Ventura Board Votes to Draft Living Wage Law
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VENTURA COUNTY — The Board of Supervisors Tuesday decided to draft a law that would force companies conducting business with the county to pay their employees wages above the federal poverty level.
The vote was 4 to 1, with Supervisor Judy Mikels dissenting, mainly because she feared such a law might harm private businesses and prompt all county employees to demand raises.
“Businesses do have a responsibility, but I don’t see businesses making impossibly large profits on the backs of workers,” said Mikels.
Waving placards that said “Working Families Deserve a Living Wage,” nearly 60 people attended the meeting, urging supervisors to join 36 cities and counties nationwide in adopting similar so-called living wage ordinances.
The cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena, West Hollywood, Baltimore, San Jose, Oakland and New York and the county of Los Angeles are among the governments that have adopted similar laws.
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