Stop the presses: California voters just did something reasonable. For the first time in the state’s history, a ballot measure to increase the minimum wage has failed.
Yes, in California—a state so far left it practically leans into the Pacific Ocean—Proposition 32, which would have hiked the minimum wage to $18 an hour by 2026, was rejected. By a hair, sure—less than 2%—but rejected nonetheless.
California voters narrowly reject $18 minimum wage increase. Proposition 32 was rejected in California, which would have raised the minimum wage from $16 to $18 an hour by 2026 https://t.co/Mj4mJ49JNJ pic.twitter.com/Bb4E8cXgiC
— Restaurant News (@NRNonline) November 20, 2024
The Associated Press finally called the results this week, two long weeks after Election Day. The margin? About 240,000 votes. The proposition faced stiff opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce, which warned (rightly) that it would jack up taxes and force businesses to cut jobs. And let’s be real: they had a point.
Earlier this year, California’s Democrats gave us a preview of what happens when they meddle with wages, setting a $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers. The result? Predictable chaos. Restaurants scrambled to hike prices, cut hours, and lay off employees—shocker.
“Californians are sending Gavin Newsom and the SEIU a clear message: They’re sick of being lab rats for their pet projects,” said Rebekah Paxton from the conservative Employment Policies Institute. She’s not wrong. A survey of fast-food operators showed the fallout: 98% raised prices, 89% slashed employee hours, and 70% reduced staff. And this was supposed to help workers?
The Death of Prop 32 in California is a big fat well deserved boot kick into Governor #GavinNewsom‘s prettyboy face. Thank you fellow #Californian‘s maybe there’s still hope for our state. #Newsom‘s $25 minimum wage for fast food has been a nightmare, for skilled workers who… https://t.co/lKluYd4Ufr
— RGAP CREATIVE STUDIO (@RGAPCreative) November 20, 2024
Of course, Governor Gavin Newsom had his own spin. Back in September, he penned an op-ed claiming the fast-food wage hike was creating “better working conditions” and “greater opportunities for upward mobility.” Because who doesn’t feel “upwardly mobile” while getting fewer hours at work and paying $15 for a burger?
Unions like SEIU and UFCW 770 backed Proposition 32, framing it as a moral obligation to ensure workers “earn enough to support their families.” But California’s minimum wage is already one of the highest in the nation at $16 an hour, with some cities—like West Hollywood—pushing $20. If a $19.08 minimum wage isn’t enough in WeHo, maybe the problem isn’t the wage; maybe it’s the cost of living in a state strangled by taxes and regulations.
This vote sends a message: even in California, voters are waking up to the economic reality that endless wage hikes hurt more than they help. Maybe this is the start of a broader shift—or at least a rare moment of fiscal sanity. Either way, the “workers’ paradise” Gavin Newsom keeps pitching looks a little less shiny today.
