Vice President Joe Biden praises Los Angeles County for raising minimum wage

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Vice President Joe Biden visited Los Angeles Wednesday and said Southern California is leading the drive to raise the minimum wage across the country.

Biden, along with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, toured the Bobrick Washroom Equipment, Inc. factory in North Hollywood. It makes bathroom equipment, and while it competes with companies in other countries, it pays employees above the minimum wage.

The business has been in Los Angeles for more than 100 years, and its CEO backed the City Council's ordinance to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020.

"Treating your employees with respect and giving them a piece of the effort that they put in and the profit that occurs is not only the right thing to do, it is really smart business," Biden said during a speech at the factory.

Biden also said that the federal minimum wage should be increased from $7.25 an hour to $12.

"Just raising the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour would raise the standard of living for 35 million people," he said.

During Biden's tour, a photographer was arrested for possession of a loaded gun while inside the perimeter set up by Los Angeles police.

Authorities believe there was no criminal intent, but that the person possibly forgot he had the weapon in his car. The man faces charges for having the loaded gun and is being held in lieu of $35,000 bail.