In a victory for labor and community groups, the Los Angeles City Council voted to hike the minimum wage in the city to $15 an hour by 2020 from the current $9.

One of the main backers of the proposal, City Councilman Curren Price Jr.,before the vote said, "We are embarking upon, I think, the most progressive minimum wage policy anywhere in the country."

The 67-percent pay hike would be executed progressively, beginning from $10.50 an hour for larger employers in 2016, and slowly increasing each year till it reaches $15 in 2020.

Challengers of minimum wage hikes, such as Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce senior vice president of public policy Ruben Gonzalez, claims they place an unjustified burden on businesses, and would force companies to terminate workers or move.

Other cities have also moved to increase their minimum wages in phases. Seattle is introducing a pay hike that would take the minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next two to six years. Voters in San Francisco have agreed to raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour till 2018.

Last year Chicago city leaders sanctioned raising its minimum wage to $13 by 2019. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has approved raising the minimum wage to about $15 by 2019.