Mayor Eric Garcetti wants to raise minimum wage in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Monday announced details about his proposal to raise minimum wage in the city from the current $9 per hour to $13.25 by 2017.

Garcetti made the announcement during a Labor Day rally at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in South Los Angeles.

"While our city has added 40,000 jobs and unemployment has dropped 2% since I became mayor, the erosion of wages for low- and middle-wage workers threatens our recovery," said Garcetti. "I'm proposing to responsibly and gradually raise the minimum wage in L.A. to $13.25 because it's deplorable and bad for our economy to have one million Angelenos stuck in poverty, even when working full-time."

Garcetti's proposal will be introduced and debated by the Los Angeles City Council. If approved, the wage would go up $1.25 the first year and a $1.50 each of the following two years. After that, it would be based on the cost of living.

Many business leaders oppose the proposal, saying the increase would kill jobs and end up hurting the economy. They say some businesses may leave Los Angeles and move to nearby cities with lower minimum wages.

The minimum hourly wage in California is $9 and set to go up to $10 in 2016. Los Angeles joins cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Oakland, where minimum wage increases are being considered.