A $15 minimum wage slated to be implemented by 2020 may force US companies to outsource services, says a Wall Street Journal report. Los Angeles in particular, which has factories producing jeans, jackets and other apparel items employs most of the workers in the country. Manufacturers and designers feel that ‘Made in LA’ may suffer due to the impending new wage law, which would increase city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020.
Los Angeles sees more people working in garment factories than traditional business towns such as Chicago, Detroit or Philadelphia. While the number of manufacturing workers in Los Angeles and nationwide has plummeted from 25 years ago, the community has maintained its leadership position. There are about 524,000 manufacturing workers in the region, well above 409,000 in Chicago and 368,000 in New York, according to the U. S. Department of Labor figures.
The city’s wage law, which will raise the base pay by 50 per cent over five years, will surely help the working families in raising their living standards but would put a pressure on manufacturers and they may have to move out of L. A. to reduce cost burden. With manufacturers in L. A. fearing the worst, around eight cities, including St. Louis, New York and Washington, are now evaluating their proposals to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
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