For Aragon students who work at local jobs around the community, their minimum wage will increase starting in Jan. 2019.
According to the City of San Mateo’s ordinance website, San Mateo’s minimum wage will increase from $13.50 to $15 per hour next year, while workers in nonprofit organizations that are tax exempt will experience a minimum wage increase from $12 to $13.50 per hour. In Sunnyvale and Mountain View, wages will also raise to $15.00 per hour, but in San Jose, wages starting from $12 will increase to $13.50 an hour.
Economics and government teacher Kevin Nelson explained how minimum wages are created.
“If a change is going through, that means a legislative body at each level is deciding that the cost of living in that area has gone up by too much and the lower end of the labor force isn’t able to get by,” Nelson said. “Minimum wages do not rise with the cost of living because they’re based on what a legislative body says should be set.”
Raising wages can provide an opportunity for minimum wage workers to improve their financial situation.
“I feel that minimum wage is important to ensure that [some people] that maybe did not finish their education can be able to earn a fair amount in order to take care of themselves and their families,” said senior Gianna Garcia.
Senior Hannah Pearlman who works at TPumps explained how the increase in minimum wage will affect her health.
“It would be nice to work a little less [because] I actually have some injuries that affect my ability to work,” Pearlman said “I have nerve damage in my wrists. Since I work with my hands a lot, it’s really tolling. Maybe if I was paid a bit more, I could maybe get a little more rest.”
Since this new law applies to every worker regardless of their age, Nelson believes that the minimum wage does not fairly distinguish the financially unstable workers from the others.
“[When] you raise the minimum wage, you’re not differentiating between who gets it. I’m not sure that an 18-year-old needs a $15 per hour minimum wage,” Nelson said. “Whereas somebody who is supporting others [or] going to school, they would need that [money]. That’s one of the drawbacks of it.”
Even though this increase may help families who have low incomes, it can place a burden on small businesses.
“Small businesses are not going to be very happy with [this] because it’s a mandate that they’ve got to pay more money,” Nelson said. “[Their profit] margins are already pretty tight to stay in the rent and everything that they are already in. It’s a double-edged sword; it’s great for families who need more money, but it’s harder for small businesses.”
Quickly business owner Chris Lin addresses the effects of the minimum wage increase in relation to his business.
“The increase in minimum wage will drive the price of our products up to maintain a profit margin,” Lin said. “For the majority of the drinks, they will be raised by 50 cents. For example, a small cup of boba milk tea costs $3.50, [but by next year], it would be $4.00.”
Lin describes his future business plans to accommodate for the new minimum wage.
“It doesn’t make sense for three employees to run the store during a store’s off hours,” Lin said. “My plan is to have two employees open the store and based off the busy and slow hours, the amount of employees can be adjusted.”
Some students believe that the new wages will still not be enough for financial stability.
“I think that [increasing wages is] good, but I’m not really sure how that helps the people who work two jobs to help their families,” said junior Nia Arcia. “It’s still not enough for a stable living.”
Foster City Vice Mayor Gary Pollard said the high cost of living should be resolved rather than raising the minimum wage.
“[Ideally] when more money flows to employees, they then have more income to spend and help the economy,” Pollard said, “In the Bay Area, it really only helps make people less worried about paying their bills. The fix is to find ways to lower the cost of living as a start, and then maybe more disposable income can be spent to grow the economy.”
