Council Should Say No to Hero Pay

Should a city council vote to force grocery store owners to give grocery works $4 per hour Hero Pay? I do not think so, but at tonight's (March 2, 2021) Costa Mesa City Council meeting, the Council will consider doing such an over-reach into private businesses. I am asking the Council to please reject this idea and vote to receive and file NB 3. The City has no jurisdiction to direct local businesses to offer Hero Pay. As the report mentions, there are several downsides, such as grocery stores closing and lawsuits. We elected the Mayor and City Council to work for Costa Mesans. How many grocery workers live in Costa Mesa? The report does not say. Grocery workers have unions to help them negotiate raises and Hero Pay. Grocery workers have a personal responsibility to protect themselves from COVID-19 and other diseases. They may stop working and collect unemployment benefits. It is not the job of local government to issue such an edict that affects a business’ employees and its bottom line. In the staff report, there is no data to support grocery workers’ disparity in pay in the marketplace. The argument to order a $4 Hero Pay is not justified. Next, will the Council be supporting nurses to receive Hero Pay? Or tell CVS, Home Depot, or other “essential” businesses to support Hero Pay? Where does it end? The Council must not wade into this unchartered territory but focus on ways to save money at City Hall and ways to bring in more businesses to Costa Mesa. They need to stay out of local business operations and what the owners pay their employees. It is none of their business. Let the free market decide.