SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Efforts to raise the minimum wage for fast food workers and health care workers in California are seeing mixed results and reactions.
The owner of the McDonald’s at San Francisco’s Stonestown Mall says he is closing the restaurant, in part due to the increase in the minimum wage.
RELATED: McDonald’s in San Francisco’s Stonestown Galleria will close Sunday after more than 30 years, owner says
The McDonald’s at San Francisco’s Stonestown Galleria will close for good on Sunday after more than 30 years in business.
Meanwhile, a July 1 pay increase for medical workers is likely to be postponed until October.
“We do a lot of work for what we’re paid,” said Lori Viramontes, a medical assistant to a neurosurgeon.
Lori Viramontes has been a healthcare professional for over 20 years.
On July 1, hundreds of thousands of California’s lowest-paid health care workers will see their minimum wage increase to $25 an hour.
The order does not affect Viramontes.
But it will also affect many other health care workers who don’t earn enough, she said.
“Practitioners in private practice often feel overworked and underpaid,” Viramontes said.
“They work so hard and they should be compensated for it,” said Trianna Finley, a health care worker.
RELATED: Democrats agree to delay minimum wage increase for health care workers to help balance California’s budget
About 426,000 workers are expected to benefit from the legislation, according to the latest estimates from the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center, including medical assistants, receptionists, medical billing staff, patient technicians, cleaners and food service employees.
The law applies to all low-wage health care workers employed in covered facilities, regardless of whether they belong to a union.
With California facing a $46 billion budget shortfall, state Democrats have agreed to a proposal to delay a planned minimum wage increase for health care workers until Oct. 15.
If the state’s fiscal situation improves or the state secures federal funding, wages would rise.
Otherwise, the law and wage increases may not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2025.
John Logan, a professor and chair of the labor economics department at San Francisco State University, said the minimum wage needs to be raised because of major problems recruiting and retaining some health care workers.
“It’s also about ensuring we have the health care workers we need now and will desperately need in the future,” Logan said.
Read more: ‘Sad’: Oakland’s In-N-Out grills its last burger on Sunday, closes for good
Sunday marked closing day for the In-N-Out Burger on Interstate 880 in Oakland.
In April, the state raised the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour.
The owners of the McDonald’s at Stonestown Galleria say they decided to close for two reasons: disagreements with the building’s owner over lease terms and rising costs of operating the restaurant, including the state’s new $20 hourly minimum wage for fast-food workers.
“This will have an impact on parts of the market that are already in crisis,” said Chris Thornburg, founder of Beacon Economics.
“When you raise the minimum wage, that money either comes out of the pockets of business owners or gets passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices,” Thornburg said.
The effects of the minimum wage increase are starting to be felt: Thornburgh believes there will be fewer restaurants, people will pay higher prices, and unemployment rates will rise for 16-19 year olds.
Some argue that better wages are essential for the people who serve and care for us, and that higher wages would pave the way for change in other states and industries.
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