Business Leaders Warn $25 Minimum Wage Mandate Will Devastate San Diego
The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce held a press conference to voice strong opposition to the City of San Diego’s proposed $25 minimum wage mandate. Business and community leaders spoke to the devastating consequences this policy would have on small businesses, the regional economy, and San Diego as a whole.
Speakers included: ?Chris Cate of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, Sara Arjmand, Partner of the San Diego Dining Group, Steve Pinard of Action Sports Rentals, and Caroline Perry of the San Diego Padres.
“This proposed $25 wage mandate is reckless and economically irresponsible,” said Chris Cate, President & CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “It will kill jobs, shut down businesses and non-profits, and increase the cost of living for San Diego families. Under this proposal, the City of San Diego will exempt themselves from having to pay this wage to its own employees because it knows it’s unaffordable. Pushing this burden onto our businesses is hypocritical and dangerous. We need policies that support job growth, not proposals that make San Diego even more unaffordable.”
“The Padres are proud to be a major economic contributor and a committed community partner,” said Caroline Perry, Chief Operating Officer of the San Diego Padres. “We pay the highest mandated wage in Major League Baseball through the City’s Living Wage Ordinance, which adjusts annually for inflation. We believe in fair, competitive wages, but this proposal is too extreme. It would drive up the cost of living, make it harder for San Diegans to attend games, and hurt the local businesses that rely on Petco Park. We urge the City Council to reject it.”
Speakers also highlighted the very real, negative impacts that this mandate will have, including the risk of layoffs, business closures, and job losses, while calling attention to the hypocrisy of a wage level that the City itself doesn’t apply to all its own employees.
“For our restaurants, this mandate forces an impossible choice – do we raise prices beyond what working families can afford, or do we reduce team member hours?” said Sara Arjmand of the California Restaurant Association, San Diego Chapter. “This proposal threatens the fabric of our hospitality community, which employs tens of thousands of workers and supports the tourism and culture that make San Diego shine.”
“The reality of a $25 wage increase for my small, family-run business is simple: we will not survive,” said Steve Pinard of Action Sports Rentals. “We are not a giant corporation. We are neighbors serving neighbors in a city where operating a small business is becoming harder and harder.”
San Diego businesses that are already struggling with the financial pressures of inflation and labor shortages will have no choice but to pass increased costs onto customers. From restaurant menus to recreational rentals and ticketed events, families already struggling with the high cost of living will be priced out of their own city.
Category: Business, Events, Finances, Government, Local News
