Pasadenans Organizing for Progress (POP!) will kick-off their “Protect Pasadena Wages” campaign, on Nov. 9 and 10 with a free cup of coffee and live music for every self-identified low wage earner and labor supporter.
Rosebud Coffee (2302 E. Colorado Blvd.) is hosting the event an according to POP! is “a proud supporter of a higher minimum wage.” Features of the event will include a presentation by spoken word artists and information booths from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday and from 8 to 10 a.m. on Saturday.
This event is the first in a series of activities encouraging the City Council to vote in February 2019 in favor of increasing Pasadena’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by July 1, 2020. The Pasadena City Council voted unanimously in 2016 to raise the minimum wage, setting a goal of $15 an hour by July 2020. But unlike the Los Angeles City and LA County ordinances, Pasadena requires the City Council to vote in February 2019 whether to continue on the path to $15 an hour by 2020. Three wage increases have occurred since the ordinance was passed, yet POP! worries that the remaining two increases are in jeopardy unless the council votes to approve them.
POP! Co-Chair and Board Member Kim Douglas met with many low-income workers to see how the ordinance has impacted individuals and families who live and work in Pasadena. “They often describe how the additional income has improved their families’ lives,” she said. “They struggle less to meet basic needs and have more money to spend in our city.”
Over the next few months, POP! plans to meet with councilmembers and organize community support from individuals, organizations, faith leaders and businesses to ensure low-wage workers are earning $15 an hour by 2020.
