I want to congratulate Oakland for passing Measure FF, increasing the minimum wage from $9 to $12.25. Although a victory for labor justice, alone, the minimum-wage increase will not make Oakland affordable for everyone.
Although the minimum-wage increase allows better access to a decent standard of living for low-income working families, without more equitable housing policy, few neighborhoods in Oakland remain affordable for low-income residents.
With the ever-increasing construction, rising housing costs, and growing gentrification, Oakland is quickly joining San Francisco as an increasingly unaffordable city. The most recent Just Cause report “Development without Displacement” highlights that the median monthly rent in Oakland neighborhoods in the latest stages of gentrification increased by about 30 percent between 1990 and 2011, making these neighborhoods more expensive than some of the historically affluent areas such as Rockridge and the Oakland Hills.
As demonstrated by Laura McCamy from Oakland Local, by the beginning of 2014 the monthly average rent prices in Oakland were $1,868. Even with the new $12.25 minimum wage, an Oakland resident would have to work about 38 hours each week just to afford rent. This is unrealistic for a single-income family in Oakland.
Struggling to pay these high rents, low-income residents are often displaced from their homes and communities. Experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety from displacement, these residents are forced to start over in a new area without the structural and social support they need to succeed.
Furthermore, this displacement exacerbates segregation and increases health inequities across the Bay Area.
So now what? Although the minimum-wage increase may help improve the situation of many low-income residents in Oakland, these residents will continue to be ripped from their communities and homes if the city of Oakland does not implement policies to make the city more affordable to all its residents.
The minimum-wage raise can only go so far if housing remains out of reach.
Using the momentum from the most recent election, we must enact affordable housing preservation policies such as a no-net-loss policy so families of all income levels can continue to enjoy all the opportunities the city of Oakland has to offer.
No-net-loss would preserve and encourage the production of affordable housing at all levels allowing current long-term, low-income residents to remain in the city that they call home.
With the no-net-loss policy, Oakland would maintain its diverse and eclectic population, while remaining open and welcoming to all.
By marrying the newly passed increase of the minimum wage with a no-net-loss policy, Oakland will keep its city accessible to diverse populations and serve a model of a healthy city for other cities across America.
On its own the minimum wage policy can’t combat the rising inequality in Oakland. Let’s keep Oakland diverse and equitable for all. No-net-loss can make this possibility a reality.
Chantal Hildebrand is a resident of Berkeley.
