Petaluma Residents Getting Ready for the Minimum Wage Decision at the City Council Meeting on July 15th

The Petaluma City Council will be voting on a City-wide $15 Minimum Wage on July 15th. Many residents and business owners are in favor of this ordinance. One such resident and Executive Director of a non-profit in Petaluma known as the Food Empowerment Project had a letter published in today’s Press Democrat (See Below).

It is unbelievably refreshing to hear these people stand up for economic equality. These are business owners who believe their employees who make their businesses work deserve as good as they do.

Come to the Petaluma City Council meeting on July 15th and let your voice be heard.

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Letter to the Editor by Lauren Ornelas

Petaluma’s minimum wage

EDITOR: As a vegan food justice nonprofit, a part of our mission is working in solidarity with farmworkers as well as working for equal access to healthy foods in communities of color and low-income communities.

There is a lot to be done in this area, from creating more urban and residential gardens to supporting the opening of worker-owned cooperatives.

It is a complex issue and one that varies from community to community.

However, as part of our focus groups, one consistent issue continues to come up: The individuals living in these communities emphasize that cost is a huge factor as they don’t make a lot of money.

This is why we strongly support the increase of the minimum wage to $15 an hour in Petaluma. A full-time job at 40 hours a week at $15 per hour is only slightly more than $30,000 per year.

Our organization is based in Petaluma, and we pay our employees living wages. We may be small, but ensuring that our workers aren’t struggling means we do our part for our organization, for society and, most importantly, for them.

LAUREN ORNELAS

Executive director, Food Empowerment Project