Group Marches for Citywide Reform
About 1,000 people rallied Tuesday morning in Downtown L.A. in support of fixing citywide problems.
The rally was organized by Fix L.A., a coalition of labor and community groups that aims to "preserve and create new jobs that can support a family."
The city council discussed a proposal on Tuesday to raise the minimum wage in L.A. as well as the possibility of increasing it to $15.25 an hour by 2019. A city council committee asked for a study on the effects of raising the minimum wage.
The Fix L.A. coalition also called for the city to stop paying what it calls "excessive bank rates."
“We are here today to send a message that our city needs, and we have found a solution to fix it," said Pastor William D. Smart Jr., the president of the Southern Leadership Conference of Southern California. "The bank fees are the main financial problems, we demand the city to get the fees from the bank to use it to serve the city."
In August 2014, the city council voted 14-0 to try to renegotiate deals between the city and two banks.
“We are calling on our leaders, to stand up to Wall Street and bring the money back to our cities where they belong,” said spokesperson for Fix L.A. Alisa Rivera. “This rally is also to raise the minimum wage to $15."
Opponents of raising the minimum wage argue that it will harm job seekers in the long run by discouraging business from hiring workers.