SACRAMENTO – The Sacramento Bee reports that California is on its way to become the first state to boost its minimum wage rate to $15 an hour.

Gov. Jerry Brown, labor unions and state lawmakers reached a deal to incrementally raise California’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022. The news source writes that the agreement, “discussed by labor groups in a teleconference on Saturday, comes after intense advocacy by labor unions and statewide polls showing strong support for increasing the state’s mandatory minimum wage beyond its current $10 an hour.”

Discussions surrounding the minimum wage increase come amid escalating concern about income inequality in the United States. The news source notes that a recent Public Policy Institute of California poll found that 81% of likely California voters say the gap between the rich and poor is widening, and 58% of likely voters think the government should do more to bridge the gap.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that states “appear to be the next battleground” for minimum wage increases, citing that such efforts were more prevalent at the local level. “Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco have all opted to phase in $15-an-hour minimum wages in coming years,” the news source writes, adding that lawmakers in New York are in advanced discussions to bring that state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, up from the current $9/hour rate.

Be on the lookout for the April issue of NACS Magazine for more on state and local labor efforts and the impact on convenience stores.