California Gov. Newsom signs law to slowly raise health care workers’ minimum wage to $25 per hour

abcnews.go.com:

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law to raise the minimum wage for health care workers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will raise the minimum wage for health care workers to $25 per hour over the next decade under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.

The new law is the second minimum wage increase Newsom has signed. Last month, he signed a law raising the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour.

Both wage increases are the result of years of lobbying by labor unions, which have significant sway in the state’s Democratic-dominated Legislature.

“Californians saw the courage and commitment of healthcare workers during the pandemic, and now that same fearlessness and commitment to patients is responsible for a historic investment in the workers who make our healthcare system strong and accessible to all,” said Tia Orr, executive director of the Service Employees International Union California.

The wage increase for health care workers reflects a carefully crafted compromise in the final days of the legislative session between the health care industry and labor unions to avoid some expensive ballot initiative campaigns.

Several city councils in California had already passed local laws to raise the minimum wage for health care workers. The health care industry then qualified referendums asking voters to block those increases. Labor unions responded by qualifying a ballot initiative in Los Angeles that would limit the maximum salaries for hospital executives.

The law Newsom signed Friday would preempt those local minimum wage increases.

It was somewhat unexpected for Newsom to sign the law. His administration had expressed concerns about the bill previously because of how it would impact