Supervisors voted 3-2 to study the economic impacts of the initiative, which would raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour in unincorporated areas and on county property, before sending it to voters.
Aug 5, 2026
Updated 4:07 pm PT
The measure could still make it onto the March 2028 ballot, or sooner, if a special election is called.
(Beth LaBerge/KQED)
An initiative to establish the nation’s highest minimum wage in parts of Alameda County will not make it onto the November ballot, after the county’s Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to further study its economic impact.
The measure, which would gradually raise the minimum wage in unincorporated areas and county buildings to $30 an hour, will now miss a deadline to go before voters on Nov. 3, even though proponents collected more than the 49,000 required voter signatures. Voters could still decide the proposal in March 2028 or sooner, if a special election is called.
Under the initiative by the Living Wage for All coalition, large employers with 100 or more employees and annual revenues exceeding $1 billion and janitorial firms would have until July 2030 to make the full jump. Smaller employers would have additional years to adjust.
Supervisor Nate Miley, whose district includes parts of Oakland and the unincorporated communities of Ashland and Castro Valley, called the board’s decision “the prudent thing to do.
“I don’t want to do anything that’s going to impact the quality of life in unincorporated areas without a study … so we can get all questions answered,” he said.
Nate Miley of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors speaks during a California Reparations Listening Session at the California Ballroom in Oakland on May 28, 2022.
A full-time worker without dependents must make at least $32.31 to support themselves in Alameda County, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator. The highest minimum wage countywide is the city of Emeryville’s $20.34 per hour.
Low-income workers said they increasingly struggled to afford the basics in one of the country’s most expensive regions. But many local restaurant owners, retailers and other small business representatives urged supervisors to better understand the potential impacts of the proposed measure before sending it to voters.
“I would respectfully ask that this board do its fiduciary responsibility to the voters, the workers, and the business owners of Alameda in seeking a full and well-regarded economic study as to the repercussions,” Scott Rodrick, a second-generation business owner, said during the 90-minute public comment.
Supervisors Miley, David Haubert and Lena Tam directed county staff to bring back a report within a month examining the measure’s effects, including on jobs, consumer prices, and the county’s own finances. Supervisors Elisa Márquez and Nikki Fortunato Bas said they shared their colleagues’ concerns, but voted to approve placing the coalition’s petition on this year’s ballot — noting that they did not want to interfere with the will of voters.