WITH over 30,000 Filipinos living in Long Beach, conversations about raising the minimum wage and wage enforcement in the city are important issues to the Filipino community.
Most Filipinos in Long Beach have settled in Westside Long Beach, an area tucked in between the 710 freeway and the bustling Port of Long Beach. Filipinos living in Westside Long Beach largely work low-wage jobs in the health and service industries. Raising the minimum wage would undoubtedly create a positive impact in the Filipino community.
According to data from Long Beach Rising: A City that Works for Everyone by the Economic Roundtable, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would affect 17,000 Long Beach residents who work in the city. An increase in wages would help nearly over 6,500 Long Beach workers rise out of poverty by 2020. In addition to providing a living wage for residents working in the city, the minimum wage policy should include earned paid sick days so workers do not have to make the choice between going to work sick or staying home and not getting paid. Workers should also receive stronger protection against wage theft, which includes being underpaid and being denied overtime or breaks.
In November 2015, the Filipino Migrant Center surveyed 110 Westside Long Beach residents about raising the minimum wage in Long Beach and their experiences with wage theft. Of the residents surveyed, 96 percent support the raising the minimum wage in Long Beach.
More than half of residents (62 percent) shared experiencing at least one form of wage theft, including being underpaid, denied breaks, and working overtime without pay. Respondents working as caregivers, restaurant servers, and health care workers shared personal experiences with wage theft. 41 percent of residents reported knowing someone who has experienced wage theft.
The high percentage of respondents stating they have experienced wage theft is not surprising. Filipino immigrants and migrant workers working low-wage service jobs are some of the most vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace. Long Beach Filipino residents were overwhelmingly supportive of passing a policy to protect workers from wage theft.
As part of the Coalition to End Wage Theft and the Raise the Wage Coalition, the Filipino Migrant Center has been working collaboratively with other community organizations and members in a growing movement to end wage theft and raise the wage in Long Beach. We believe that all workers in Long Beach deserve better. As a part of a vibrant Filipino community, we must empower workers and uplift communities by passing a policy in Long Beach for a living wage, strong wage enforcement, guaranteed paid sick days, and no exemptions. Our families are depending on it.
