Were Voter's Denied A Vote On The Minimum Wage In California?

Before it was announced that Governor Brown and the California State legislators had come to an agreement with labor unions to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022, there was already a ballot initiative set for this Fall to raise the wage to $15 by 2021.  So this begs the question;  is delaying the $15 wage by one year a victory for businesses?  Not hardly.

In my opinion, the agreement between the labor unions and California's liberal Democrat Governor and its liberal state legislators, only makes sure that the ballot initiative is not defeated  by the voters. Thus insuring that the labor union's wish for the highest minimum wage in the nation, and in the world would be guaranteed.

But, why would the labor unions even care about the minimum wage since no union pay scale pays anything near it?  The simple fact is that most union contracts and their embedded pay scales in those contracts are linked to the minimum wage as either some percentage over it, or by hiking union wages equal to the amount of the increase.

So the bottom line is that the Democrats want to maintain their symbiotic relationship with the unions by insuring that they too, get a wage hike when the minimum wage is increased.  In return, Democrats get votes from the union membership; money for their campaigns; and get-out-the-vote activities that only benefit Democrats. It has nothing to do with what they call a living wage. As a result there will be lost jobs through automation; more unemployment; higher costs that affect those, like seniors and others not subject to minimum wage legislation, that won't see their incomes rise; and fewer new businesses due to higher startup costs.

References:

California "Fair Wage Act of 2016" $15 Minimum Wage Initiative (2016): https://ballotpedia.org/California_%22Fair_Wage_Act_of_2016%22_$15_Minimum_Wage_Initiative_%282016%29

California raises minimum wage to $15 an hour: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/03/28/california-raises-minimum-wage-15-hour/82348622/

Why Unions Want a Higher Minimum Wage - Wall Street Journal: https://www.google.com/search?q=Why+Unions+Want+a+Higher+Minimum+Wage+-+Wall+Street+...&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 

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