Report for the San Mateo County Blue Ribbon Task Force on Adult Health Coverage Expansion; assesses options for employer participation in a new county health care access expansion program and analyzes the potential for generating revenue for the program.

This report presents a detailed view of the Black workforce, with a focus on the incidence of low-wage work. It finds a two-dimensional crisis of work in the Black community: that of unemployment, and that of low-wage jobs. The author argues that not enough attention is paid to the crisis of low-wage jobs or to the task of transforming the millions of low-wage jobs into jobs that pay family-sustaining wages. The report includes recommendations on policies that will increase standards in the areas of wages (minimum wage laws; living wage laws); benefits (protecting employer-based health care and pension plans); and the right to unionize.

This report documents the effects of the 2004 San Francisco minimum wage law. Focusing on the San Francisco restaurant sector, the authors find that the law did not prompt employment loss or business closures. The authors provide a review of existing literature on minimum wage laws, and a detailed explanation of their methodology.

This report was written for the San Francisco Department of Public Health and explores options for expanding health care coverage to the city’s taxi drivers. It lays out different options for stakeholders’ participation in funding and implementing a health care program, and compares the pros and cons of several alternative plans.

This brief summarizes the findings of a May 2006 report (Dube, Naidu & Reich, “The Economic Impacts of a Citywide Minimum Wage”) focusing on the impact of San Francisco’s minimum wage law on the restaurant/food services sector. The authors conclude that the law resulted in no significant change in employment growth, a decrease in worker turnover, a slight increase in prices at fast-food restaurants, no significant increase in full-service restaurant prices, and a generally smooth citywide adaptation to the new law.

This data brief illustrates the worsening condition of the Bay Area Black working population, drawing special attention to the problem of low-wage employment. The study reveals that, from a numerical standpoint, low-wage employment is a greater concern than unemployment in the black population. The report also highlights the dramatic downturn in the fortunes of the black male and young black working populations, respectively.

The authors evaluate the costs and benefits of a living wage ordinance implemented at the San Francisco Airport (SFO). Impacts of these policies are measured in terms of wages, turnover, worker morale, work effort, and employment, all of which improved. The authors find that pay for low-wage workers rose dramatically at SFO as a result of the ordinance, and earnings inequality among low-wage, non-managerial workers declined significantly as well. The study concludes that there was no overall employment loss, and that additional costs to employers are negligible.

Study analyzes the adequacy of wages for San Francisco’s hotel workers, based upon 2003 employment data. The author tests for adequacy/inadequacy using the “Self-Sufficiency Standard,” a unique measure taking into account such factors as local cost-of-living, family size and composition, ages of dependent children, and so on. The author determines that 2003 workers’ wages were doubly inadequate, given the industry’s wage rates per se, and the lack of full-time employment opportunities in the sector.

Written during the period of public debate before the passage of San Francisco’s minimum wage law, this brief calculates the potential impact of the law upon city workers and businesses. The authors calculate the number of workers to be affected by the law and the wage gains that will accrue to them, and give a breakdown of affected workers by ethnicity, gender, and age. The study also provides a point-by-point analysis of claims made in a report produced by the restaurant trade association.

This report was commissioned by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to determine how a local minimum wage would affect workers and businesses in San Francisco, based on primary data from a survey of the city’s business establishments. The analysis considers three possible wage floors—$8.50, $9.00 and $10.00—as a means of giving policymakers a better understanding of the implications of different choices they might make. The authors conclude that a municipal minimum wage could be implemented without affecting the economy or employment conditions adversely, given that national and international economic conditions would outweigh the effects of municipal policy measures.

This study illustrates the shortage of affordable housing in Sonoma County ( California), and evaluates proposed and existing policy solutions. The author gives a detailed profile of the county’s housing and job market, contrasting current housing costs with the growth in low-wage employment. A number of policies designed to increase affordable housing construction are reviewed.

This report examines the living wage ordinances in place for San Francisco International Airport employees, focusing specifically on the Quality Standards Program (QSP). The authors profile the various low-wage occupations based at the airport before QSP, and trace the development of the low-wage labor market in the airport jobs complex. The study then assesses the impact of QSP on workers, firms, taxpayers, and airport security, ultimately finding the ordinance to be an exemplary model of “high road” economic policy.

Report examines the potential impacts of proposed living wage laws in the cities of Santa Rosa and Petaluma (California). The author makes the case for a wage floor, profiling the overall “cost of living” against the prevalence of low-wage employment in both cities. The elements of the typical living wage ordinance are explained in easy-to-follow FAQ format. The author examines the various impacts of the law—on workers, firms, and the cities—and concludes that the upside of the proposed ordinance more than outweighs its minimal costs to firms.

Article examines recent struggles to unionize the state’s homecare workers and collectively bargain for better wages and working conditions. The authors survey campaigns in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Alameda counties, noting the obstacles to success and highlighting future issues of concern. The authors find a strategy of worker organization, policy intervention, and coalition building as the key to success in all cases.

A preliminary report dealing with the San Francisco Airport’s living wage ordinance, written in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The report looks at pre-ordinance airport security, finding weaknesses that stemmed from low wages, low worker morale, high turnover, and inadequate training. The authors contrast this with the San Francisco Airport security screening after the living wage was implemented. The authors find the San Francisco Airport model to be superior to the FAA’s security standards revisions being proposed at the time.

This report, written before actual passage of the law, examines the potential impacts of a living wage ordinance for the Port of Oakland. The authors explain the stimulus for the extension of the living wage law to Port tenants (groups here into real estate, maritime port, and airport activity). The study profiles Port employment by job composition, worker demographics, and wage levels, followed by a cost-benefit analysis of the impact upon firms and workers in each of the three sectors. The authors find modest costs for airport and maritime port tenants, and larger but still acceptable costs for real estate tenants.

The second half of a cost-benefit analysis of San Francisco’s living wage ordinance, examining the effects upon leaseholders of city property (primarily employers based at the airport and the port). The authors examine the number and types of businesses affected, the job composition and pre-ordinance wage rates of covered workers, and the costs of the ordinance to firms—with special attention paid to the restaurant sector. The study ultimately finds modest costs for both airport and port tenants.

A cost-benefit analysis of San Francisco’s living wage ordinance, conducted before passage of the law. The study focuses on three of the four groups to which the ordinance would apply: for-profit and non-profit firms holding service contracts with the city, and home health care workers. The authors calculate the expected costs and benefits to city and county governments, to affected firms and workers, and to the local economy. The report ultimately finds that the ordinance will have a significant positive impact, with negligible to moderate costs for affected parties.

This report highlights best practices in living wage movements through case studies of Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, and San Diego campaigns. Discussion centers on the fruitful alliance between labor unions and community organizations in building living wage movements, and on living wage ordinances as tools for equitable economic growth.