This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. wage. Please vote to implement the new formula AND add a 2025-26 catch-up increase to Item 3.5 to restore baseline cost-of- living adjustments to the Living Wage Ordinance for City contract workers.
Workers who clean our buildings, provide sanitation and security services, and keep this city running should not fall behind because of bureaucratic changes to a formula. A zero cost-of-living adjustment in the face of rising costs is not justifiable, and it should not become the new baseline.
We urge you to ensure the ordinance functions as intended by:
• Adopting the Bay Area CPI-U as a fair, transparent inflation standard going forward, and
• Including a catch-up adjustment so workers are not
permanently set back by last year’s missed increase.
In the heart of Silicon Valley, workers deserve wages that keep up with the cost of living.
Please take this opportunity to get it right and protect the future wages of the workers our city depends on.
In solidarity,
Brenda Balcazar
IBEW 1245
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
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Fw: Please Vote to Fix San José Living Wage
From City Clerk <[email protected]>
Date Mon 4/20/2026 8:29 AM
To Agendadesk <[email protected]>
Office of the City Clerk | City of San José
200 E. Santa Clara St., Tower 14th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Main: 408-535-1260
Fax: 408-292-6207
How is our service? Your feedback is appreciated!
From: Brian Wheatley < >
Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2026 6:37 AM
To: The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Please Vote to Fix San José Living Wage
You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important Dear Mayor and Members of the San José City Council,
As a retired teacher, union leader, and current SJUSD Board VP, I am disheartened to learn workers on City contracts have been shortchanged for the past 3 years by an out-of-date formula in the City's Living Wage. Last year, the cost-of-living increase in the Living Wage was set at $0.
Item 3.5 on the April 21 Council agenda would fix the formula going forward, but it does nothing to make up for the past three years, leaving workers with a permanently lower baseline wage. Please vote to implement the new formula AND support the memo from Councilmembers Candelas, Campos, Ortiz, and Casey to add a 2025-26 catch-up increase to Item 3.5 to restore baseline cost- of-living adjustments to the Living Wage Ordinance for City contract workers. 4/20/26, 4:52 PM Inbox - Agendadesk - Outlook
https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADUxOWI4ZjE3LTRkNDEtNGUzMS04MjAwLTIzNzdiYTdkMjc5NAAQ… 1/2
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Workers who clean our buildings, provide sanitation and security services, and keep this city running should not fall behind because of bureaucratic changes to a formula. They are the parents of children we serve in San Jose Unified SD. A zero cost-of-living adjustment in the face of rising costs is not justifiable, and it should not become the new baseline.
We urge you to ensure the ordinance functions as intended by:
• Adopting the Bay Area CPI-U as a fair, transparent inflation standard going forward, and • Including a catch-up adjustment so workers are not permanently set back by last year’s missed increase.
In the heart of Silicon Valley, workers and their families deserve wages that keep up with the cost of living.
Please take this opportunity to get it right and protect the future wages of the workers our city depends on.
In solidarity,
Brian Wheatley
SJUSD Board VP
SVCTE Trustee
4/20/26, 4:52 PM Inbox - Agendadesk - Outlook
https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADUxOWI4ZjE3LTRkNDEtNGUzMS04MjAwLTIzNzdiYTdkMjc5NAAQ… 2/2 [External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn more] Outlook
Fw: April 22, 2026, Item 3.5: Revision to City Council Policy 3-3 Living Wage Policy, Relating to Living Wage Setting Methodology for Annual Rate Adjustments.
From City Clerk <[email protected]>
Date Mon 4/20/2026 12:10 PM
To Agendadesk <[email protected]>
1 attachment (74 KB)
living-wage-COLA-letter-2.docx (1).pdf;
Office of the City Clerk | City of San José
200 E. Santa Clara St., Tower 14th Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Main: 408-535-1260
Fax: 408-292-6207
How is our service? Your feedback is appreciated!
From: Vanessa Tapia < >
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2026 11:54 AM
To: The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: April 22, 2026, Item 3.5: Revision to City Council Policy 3-3 Living Wage Policy, Relating to Living Wage Setting Methodology for Annual Rate Adjustments.
You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important Good morning,
Please find attached a letter from the South Bay Labor Council and Working Partnerships USA regarding Item 3.5: Revision to City Council Policy 3-3 Living Wage Policy, Relating to Living Wage Setting Methodology for Annual Rate Adjustments.
4/20/26, 4:52 PM Inbox - Agendadesk - Outlook
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This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Please reach out with any questions. Thank you.
Best Regards,
Vanessa Tapia (she/her)
Communications Organizer
South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council
4/20/26, 4:52 PM Inbox - Agendadesk - Outlook
https://outlook.cloud.microsoft/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADUxOWI4ZjE3LTRkNDEtNGUzMS04MjAwLTIzNzdiYTdkMjc5NAAQ… 2/2
April 20, 2026 Honorable Mayor and City Council City of San José 200 E. Santa Clara Street San Jose, CA 95113 RE: April 22, 2026, Item 3.5: Revision to City Council Policy 3-3 Living Wage Policy,
Relating
to
Living
Wage
Setting
Methodology
for
Annual
Rate
Adjustments.
Dear Mayor Mahan and Honorable Councilmembers: On behalf of the South Bay Labor Council representing over 100,000 workers and their families,
and
of
Working
Partnerships
USA,
we
urge
you
to
support
the
memo
from
Councilmembers
Candelas,
Campos,
Ortiz,
and
Casey
to
support
people
working
on
City
contracts
under
the
San
José
Living
Wage
by
fixing
the
outdated
inflation
formula,
and
ensuring
they
are
not
further
penalized
by
a
permanently
lower
wage
baseline
for
future
years.
As a result of an outdated methodology, the value of the San Jose Living Wage has eroded
over
time,
leaving
workers
who
provide
vital
City-funded
contract
services
struggling
to
make
ends
meet.
Since
2020,
the
regional
cost
of
living
for
wage
earners
(Bay
Area
CPI-W)
has
increased
by
20.3%,
yet
the
San
José
Living
Wage
has
only
gained
14.7%.
In July of 2025, matters got even worse. The City determined that the Living Wage COLA
for
2025-2026
would
be
$0.
This
is
an
egregious
error
with
real-world
consequences
for
San
José
residents
and
their
families.
We thank the City Council and Administration for responding to this issue and bringing forward
a
proposal
to
fix
the
formula
by
moving
to
using
the
Bay
Area
Consumer
Price
Index
for
annual
Living
Wage
adjustments.
However, by retaining a $0 COLA for 2025-2026, the City would unfairly penalize contract
workers
by
setting
a
permanently
lower
baseline
for
the
City
Living
Wage.
Due
to
the
lack
of
an
increase
in
July
2025,
workers
have
already
lost
out
on
nearly
a
full
year
of
COLA
pay,
at
the
same
time
that
working
people
in
San
José
are
facing
an
affordability
crisis.
We
cannot
lock
in
that
$0
increase
as
the
‘new
normal’
for
workers
who
have
already
lost
out
on
pay
and
are
straining
to
afford
the
basics.
We respectfully ask your support for a “catch-up” adjustment to bring the Living Wage
baseline
back
to
normal
for
2026-2027
and
future
years,
as
proposed
in
the
memo
from
Councilmembers
Candelas,
Campos,
Ortiz,
and
Casey
Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Jean Cohen Executive
Officer,
South
Bay
Labor
Council
1 Maria Noel Fernandez
Executive
Director,
Working
Partnerships
USA
2