By Khalida Sarwari
A measure to increase San Jose’s hourly minimum wage from $8 to $10 appears to be heading to the ballot this November, but some businesses in Campbell don’t seem very happy about it.
A recent survey administered by the Campbell Chamber of Commerce indicates nearly 69 percent of members that responded do not support the proposed hike. Forty-three percent of respondents said they either own or operate a business in San Jose, while 58 percent said a minimum wage increase would deter them from opening a business in San Jose.
Calling it a “poorly written ordinance,” the Chamber’s CEO Neil Collins said that if passed it would affect restaurant owners and their businesses.
“From a Campbell Chamber point of view, our concern is the way it will affect a large portion of our members who are food service folks. They are perhaps affected more than anyone,” said Collins. “You have someone who’s receiving minimum wage because the majority of their wage is getting supplemented with tips. … This ordinance doesn’t really allow for that.”
An increase in the minimum wage would also affect those who have businesses in multiple locations, said Collins. It would make it difficult on businesses, such as convenience stores, to move their employees from one location to another due to different wage laws, placing an extra burden on those businesses that are already dealing with stringent state laws.
While the initiative to increase the minimum wage was started by students at San Jose State University, Collins worried that that demographic–young people trying to enter the job market–would be among the most affected by it, because the higher wages would broaden the competition field.
John Hogan, the founder and CEO of TeenForce, a nonprofit group that helps teens gain work experience, said an increase in the minimum wage would have a negative impact on his organization’s ability to help teens in Santa Clara County.
“The unemployment rate for this group is over 16 percent, and is much higher for lower-income and minority youth,” Hogan said. “We need laws and policies that stimulate hiring for our young people, and this proposal pushes in the opposite direction.”
Nevertheless, students and labor groups, such as the South Bay Labor Council, Working Partnerships USA, Sacred Heart Community Services and the NAACP, remain in favor of the initiative. Supporters claim a discrepancy between the higher cost of living and lower minimum wage in the Bay Area, a point that not even the business community can refute.
“It is a very expensive area to live in and you do need a decent wage job to make it, there’s no question about that,” Collins said.
Voters will weigh in on the initiative at the general election on Nov. 6. Should the initiative pass, it would go into effect 90 days after the San Jose City Council accepts the election’s certification.
San Jose measure would hike the minimum wage, and some Campbell businesses don’t like it
