"Why do I support the Raise the Wage campaign? As a student at De Anza community college in Cupertino, and a working person in San Jose I know how difficult it is to support myself as a student with college fees as well as trying to cover the costs of living. College tuitions have doubled for students, and the Silicon Valley rates as one of the cities with the highest costs of living. So it’s simply, the proposition proposed by the Raise the Wage campaign is understandable and reasonable. I, along with many other community members of San Jose, have to work so hard for a pay of $8 when the fact of the matter is that this just does not cut it for any one of us to be self sufficient. I support the campaign because raising the wage will affect me directly. I have had jobs that pay better than $8 and hour and believe me you; it was so very much helpful to make even a little bit more than the minimum wage. It helped me pay for school and still have money saved; it helped me support my family, and it helped me give back to the community by spending locally and helping our businesses grow. I stand in support of this campaign because I know from experience that the increase of two dollars will in fact help many people. I stand with the campaign because I want our community in San Jose to be able to grow and prosper."
- Karla X. Navarro, student at De Anza; Cupertino, California
I support this campaign because it's really hard to make a living on 8 dollars an hour. We happen to live in Silicon Valley which is really expensive. By raising the minimum wage it would really help out a lot of people. It wouldn't just help out students pay for schoo. It would also help people save money, help them be more independent, buy necessities like food and help pay housing expenses.-Nelly Hoe, student at De Anza; Cupertino, California
I support this proposition because it moving us all closer to a better society. This may seem like one small step for San Jose but in fact it's one step closer for all humanity to understand that we can fix things for our benefit and not corporate greed.-Mariana I. Navarro
"Let me start of by saying yes I support The Raise the Wage Campaign for Silicon Valley. I am a working person myself; even though I get paid more than $8 an hour, I can’t imagine how the people who struggle to work each day for $8 hour would be able to live off that wage. If you calculate it, that only comes out to $64 a day. That is not enough. In these days that doesn’t even cover the cost of living. Silicon Valley is one of the most expensive counties to live in. By making only $8 dollars an hour that automatically puts you in the poverty level with no way out unless you get a second job. Let alone, Working College students who make this minimum wage can barely cover the cost of college tuition that has doubled. The resolution is easy. By raising the wage to $10 an hour will not only help out working people and students, it will help support families and it will help San Jose prosper and grow as a community. I support this campaign to the fullest. It will have an effect in a positive way!"-Lisa Rhett, De Anza College student; Cupertino, Cali.
"I support the Raise the Wage campaign because it directly affects me. I’m a 22 year old student and have been living in San Jose, Ca my entire life. I’ve been working a minimum wage job since I was 16, along with my mother. As a teenager I didn’t mind it, but now that I am a young adult and need to pay for tuition and other basic living needs, my hourly pay does not fully support me. I’m still living at home, so my family and I can have an easier living situation. With inflation in our economy the minimum wage should rise with it. Raising the wage will not hurt our economy, because it will give people an extra three thousand dollars that they will directly spend into our communities. With your vote, not only can you change my life, but you can change the lives of thirty thousand people. So vote YES on November’s ballot to raise San Jose’s minimum wage from 8-to-10 dollars an hour!"
-Yoel Berhane, student at DeAnza Community College; Cupertino, California.
"I do consider myself to be a liberal, but more so and moderate democrat. I try to give objective opinions, even though its sort of contradictory to say "objective opinion" . So, in the case of a San Jose wage increase, I was all for it, but when I did my due diligence, I would advocate for a more gradual approach. The sudden increase could have adverse effects, or maybe benevolent effects. The former seems more ostensible, but I would want a thorough study to be conducted, to see how the local economy will react to such a shock. This will be a shock because of the sudden nature of this policy. One of the gentlemen in this thread said that San Francisco's wage change did not have bad effects on its city's economy. That is very premature to say because these will be lagging indicators. It will take time to see what effects will take place because of current policy. Also, San Francisco's wage change was only $.30 cents, which is marginal compared with San Jose's $2 increase, so these wage laws are different in that regard. This law is bringing a lot of uncertainty to businesses in San Jose with regards to hiring and costs. For example, since businesses would experience a 25% increase in labor costs (from $8 to $10), in order for this business to maintain their profit margin without down sizing, they would have to increase consumer prices by 25% as well. So what Im trying to hammer home here is what might seem like a great social change can be very bad for business, which affects the San Jose labor markets, which is comprised of the citizens of San Jose. And my organic answer is I don't support the current proposition, but I do support the notion of increasing the min wage. I want to see a reform to this proposition that would be more business friendly, since a lot of small business owners would be affected.
-Emmanuel Emahizion, UC Davis student; Davis, California.
"On May 22, 2012 San Jose City Council unanimously voted in favor of a measure that would raise the cities minimum wage from $8 per hour to $10 per hour to be on the November ballot. This 25% increase has caused controversy, from advocates chanting and holding signs with the message “it’s time for $10” (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/print-edition/2012/05/25/waging-war-on-8-pay.html) to those opposed with serious concerns for small business owners. The debate is gaining traction, yet there are many reasons to support this measure one that is not beneficial only to the employee but for employers, the economy, and the standard of living in San Jose. A person earning $8 per hour makes $16,640 per year before taxes, nearly impossible to pay rent, car insurance, groceries and other necessary expenses for a single person now add a family. One can only imagine how difficult life is when an honest hard working person cannot put food on the table for his/her children or cannot pay for medication because their salary can only put a roof over their head.
Aside from the human aspect of why minimum wage should increase in San Jose, there are economic gains. “According to Center for American Progress (CAP) higher minimum wages puts more money into the local economy and does not cut job growth as many would like to believe. Those low-income families will take their wage increase and buy groceries and household supplies that stimulate the economy. As for employers their employees are likely to stay with the company with such an increase, thus resulting in more experienced and productive staff, a win-win situation. Yes, there are pros and cons but the pros outweigh the cons. As Americans we pride ourselves on our values come November the city of San Jose should uphold those values and support a decent life for hard working Americans."
-Stephanie Gebremedhin, San Francisco State University student
"The reason why I support this minimum wage raise is because I know how hard it is when you are being paid eight dollars an hour. You work so hard for twenty to thirty hours a week and you only get a hundred something dollars. In the end it feels like you are doing so much labor for so little pay and appreciation. Now at my new job I am being 9.25 and I can already feel the effects of that extra dollar twenty five. Working 26 hours a week, I get paid over two hundred dollars still. Now imagine if minimum wage was raised to ten dollars, and people are still getting their twenty five hours a week, that is an increase of money. More money helps with bills, paying for tuition for classes, and money just spend leisurely. Is it fair that companies keep getting bigger and richer, and the amount of what they pay their employees still stays the same?"
-Armin Paras, De Anza Collegestudent; Cupertino Cali.
"I feel that the minimum wage for San Jose should be changed. It is too low for anyone to make any type of living. The higher the wage, the more applications an employer will receive. If there are more applications there will be a better group of qualified people for the job. The employee’s will also try to work harder and want more hours. Our behaviors are based off of rewards and punishment. If their reward is a higher pay that person will definitely work harder to obtain that money. If the employee does not receive many hours their paycheck will be a pretty good amount. Overall, I feel that raising the minimum wage in San Jose will be beneficial to not only the employer and the employee, but also the community’s satisfaction."
-Courtney, student at American High school; Fremont, Cali
"Raising the minimum wage from $8 to $10 in San Jose is a very important campaign. I feel like it is nothing but positive and I am all for it. I am a student in college that this would help a lot of students like myself out. In college we have so many things to pay for. We have tuition, books, gas, food, and the list still goes on. Many students are independent and have to take care of themselves. The current minimum of $8 makes it hard for students to focus on school because they stress about working and making money. If the minimum wage was raised to $10 students would be able to focus on school more and still make a good amount of money at the same time. Everything would be balanced out. I suppose this campaign because it is nothing but positive. "
-Kyle, student at Sacramento State; Cali
"I don't live in the San Jose area nor employed there, but I do support this proposition. I feel raising the wage from $8 to $10 is a necessary move for the San Jose residents. Right now, people are struggling with their life; whether they're working low-income jobs to support their family, or college students having to pay for their school, their family, and to support themselves. We need to pay for a lot of things: food, gas, rent, bills, college tuition. The list goes on. You may assume that the cost of living will also rise if the proposition passes but it already has risen. Silicon Valley is a very expensive place to live. Well, no more. I stand with this proposition along with many others. This campaign, being held on ballot on November 6, will benefit for many of the citizens of San Jose. Right now, we are on the brink of passing this proposition and with your help we can make this happen. So, join us on our campaign, and together, we can make a change in the San Jose community. I fully support this proposition."
-Reggie Aranas, DeAnza College student; Cupertino California.
"It has become apparent that majority of the people in today’s society are struggling to find a job to support for their own and for their family. As a college student, expenses have rose for my education. With the raise of minimum wage in San Jose, it will become easier for one, like myself, to pay for tuition and food costs. It is difficult for one to pay rent, car insurance, groceries and other expenses especially when one is going to college. The extra two dollars I will receive if the wage raises helps ease the stress I get from studying and trying to earn enough just to get my education. It is already hard for myself to work 30 hours a week and having the time to study at the same time. It helps a community and even the local economy to live."
- Gil Roy Casanova, San Jose State University student, San Jose, California.
"I support raise the wage campaign because I am a student and a minimum wage worker. I make 8$ an hour which is very low income because Silicon Valley is one of the most expansive place to live in. I am afull time student I can’t work more than 20 hours per week. The amountof money I make is really low I can not pay my tuition fees. I canonly eat every day in this amount of money. My work in a restaurant isa hard work to do for only 8$. The living prices are going higher andhigher day by day and the wages are same. The gas prices, food prices,rent etc are higher and it is getting hard to survive for people whoare working on minimum wage. As 35,000 voters signed petitions insupport of raising the minimum wage in San Jose from 8$ to $10 an hourand now it is on November ballot. So I highly encourage you to vote YES to raise the wage in San Jose."
-Syed Muhammad Mudabbir Jafri, De Anza College student, Cupertino, California
"Raising the minimum wage in San Jose will be beneficial for all those who reside in the area, and will surely cause other cities in the bay to follow. Considering the high standard of living we should model our wages to match the cost of living in this city. Cities such as San Francisco raise their wages based on the rising costs of living in their city, and we should do the same. California is one of the richest economies in the world (10th), and I believe this is in part due to our state minimum wage being higher than the federal wages. By raising the wage in San Jose families will have less of a struggle to provide for their families."
-Aileen Zhong, DeAnza Community College student; Cupertino California.
"From my own personal experience, living in the suburbs isn't cheap. The cost of living here is substantially increasing. This includes gas, electricity, water, food, and other essentials for basic living. A minimum wage of $8 is certainly not sufficient in supporting an individual. However, $10 is definitely a step closer in providing each individual the right to their necessities."
-Daryll Magat, student at Ohlone College; Fremont, California.
-David Delinela, student at DeAnza Community College; Cupertino California.“For a student that doesn’t have a lot of political views, I for one, support the raise the wage campaign because my first job that I ever had I was getting paid $10 hourly and it was great. That job was so simple too, for the amount that I was getting paid for. Getting paid minimum wage and the amount of work people do is not worth $8, but some people just doesn’t have a choice. So why not raise the wage? The cost of living in San Jose is high, so raising the wages to $10 would help out all the families that live in San Jose. I feel college students are really affected by this because mostly all college students have minimum wage jobs. Struggling with tuition and school supplies, $8 are not enough.
"As prices continue to rise my pay remains the same and thats why I support the raise the wage campaign. Being a full time college student and working at the same time hasn't been easy for me. As a part time worker and getting paid close to 8 dollars an hour has made it very difficult for me to sustain myself economically. Gas and food have all increased dramatically which have weighted me down. Watching the corporation I work for being so successful while I work my butt off for them and get payed so poorly is just not fair. I believe that every working person should not live in poverty. With all that said, I'm willing to stand up for myself and support the raise the wage campaign because I'm well aware that changes don't make themselves and whining don't make changes.
-Sally Unzueta, student at De Anza College, Cupertino, California
"Raise the wage is probably one of the best things that could possibly happen in San Jose. The cost living of San Jose is really expensive and not everyone can afford renting a house, apartment or even a room. As a former student of De Anza College I've found myself in a hole that it's hard to get out of. After I graduated from De Anza and got my Associates Degree I was forced to take a break from school before continuing my studies at a CSU because money has been so tough lately. With the amount of money that costs to pay for school at the CSU, UC and private level, it's CRUCIAL for wages in San Jose to raise the wages, there are a lot of students that work at places where they get paid minimum wage and so it's hard to balance out the money we earn from work and the amount of money we have to spend for school, this is not even considering the fact that we students also have other amenities to pay such as food, gas, groceries, rent, and more. So how are we supposed to finish school on time and get a good paying job when we can't afford to pay for school? These are only SOME reasons for which I take a pledge to support the Raise the Wage campaign in San Jose and strive for a better life.
-Eduardo Gonzalez, former student at DeAnza Community College.
"Increasing the minimum wage is an idea that I fancy because surviving in San Jose is not an easy job (in particularly with $8 pay). As a student currently enrolled in San Jose City College, a very prestigious school, I have a hard time supporting myself with only a minuscule minimal wage job (at Levin Boys and Girls Club) as a source of income. That's why I believe that the $8 to $10 minimum wage campaign is a marvelous campaign. By boosting the pay by 2 dollars, it could help me with food, rent, bills, gas, subscriptions, and food costs. This will also help many others having the problems I’m having. With the economy currently being attacked by the recession, this operation is a vital building block of recovering the Silicon Valley to its glory days. God Bless America."
-Thomas Nguyen, student at San Jose City College.
"I think the proposition to raise the minimum wage to ten dollars per hour in San Jose would be a great idea. As a high school student, I am young and minimum wage is probably the most common starting wage for people with my age and experience. However, as I enter college, I could use all the help I can with paying for school like I plan to do. I have seen my older sister and brothers struggle through college and paying for their fees while working minimum wage jobs. I know that from my siblings’ stories of work, they were underpaid. A two dollar pay increase would benefit all working people. I fully support this campaign and hope it can make a change in San Jose and someday everywhere else."
- Lindsey, student at Newark Memorial High, Newark, California
"As a working college student, when I found out about this campaign, I fully supported it right away. Ten dollars an hour as opposed to eight would be beneficial for a lot of hard working people and students. I have to pay for my own college fees and it is extremely difficult to do so when only getting paid $8 an hour. I have been getting paid the minimum wage for the past few years and it is difficult to live on because of the rising costs of life essentials. I am tired of working for less than what I think I deserve. Help the working students like myself get closer to living a better life. It will benefit working people and families. Support the raise the wage campaign!"
- Jason Wong - De Anza College, Cupertino, California
"Personally I agree with the proposition of San Jose increasing their minimum wage from $8 to $10. This increase would actually be a great deal for many people, especially for families with low or even middle class income, because the cost of living in San Jose itself is beginning to rise immensely. I ‘m originally from San Jose, and I know that the cost and living ways are beginning to be relatively similar to San Francisco which is where I currently live now. With that, I feel that because San Francisco’s current minimum wage is $10, San Jose should do the same since from my knowledge and experience, they’re almost as equivalent to each other. But overall, I feel that raising the wage would definitely be beneficial and helpful for all San Jose residents and employees."
-Ayana Fabillaran, student at San Francisco University.
"I think what's important to remember in all of this is that raising the minimum wage, really, truly is about a living wage in most basic sense. I've lived in the south bay area nearly my whole life and I've seen how the cost of living has slowly been eroding the ability for people to live well. As a babysitter, I often make more than minimum wage, but it's still not possible for me to live independently from my mother. My two siblings and I live with her in a two bedroom apartment that costs $1800 a month. Groceries, bills, tuition, and other costs can raise a monthly budget to way more than an $8 an hour wage can manage. We expect our students to work hard, to graduate, to fix our economy and create a better, happier society. But none of this is possible if the basic needs of students and families in San Jose, one of the largest cities in the nation, cannot be met."-Mounia O'Neal, De Anza College student, Sunnyvale, CA
"Raising minimum wage is important because in order to create, support and provide lives for us requires a lot more than eight dollars and hour, whether it be a part time or full time job. It is impossible to pay for education, car maintenance, house dues, and food all at the same time. Eight dollars is hour, for eight hours or more a day, is almost theft to those employed. Realistically, after taxes are cut out of your paychecks, our citizens are technically making around six dollars an hour to support themselves, and or their family. How do you expect our people to live in these kinds of conditions? Raising minimum wage would create a safety net in a sense where, people might end up homeless, but at least they are fed, safe, and far from suffering to nearly dying."
-Phi Nguyen, De Anza College student, works and resides in San Jose
"The population of the earth is increasing at an exponential rate, and that significantly increases the amount of resources needed to support life. The principles of supply and demand dictate that an increase in demand will proportionally increase prices in order to maintain the level of supply. In other words, prices are bound to rise infinitely as time progresses. Consequently, minimum wages must increases in order for the lower class to be able to keep up with increases in the cost of living."
-Eric Botello, Former San Jose State University student, now Army
"I strongly feel that there needs to be an increase in minimum wage here in San Jose. How can someone survive on 8 dollars an hour? It’s hard enough going to school full time and working 30 hours a week, and then there’s all of the added stress with “How can I even afford lunch today?” And it’s not just students, there’s also grown adults trying to support families. There are a lot of people who have recently graduated from a 4-year college and the only jobs available are minimum-paying jobs. They have to take what they can get and they wind up having to live with mom and dad at the age of 24 trying to pay student loans, insurance, food, gas, etc. How can anyone believe that someone in our society can survive on 8 dollars an hour? Plain and simple, it’s impossible. I live in San Jose, the only job available when I was looking for work was in Santa Clara so I have to commute, I work 30 hours a week and all I can afford to pay is my rent and gas. I have to go to my parent’s house to get food, and they still pay for all of my other bills. I want to be an independent member of this city, but I’m still depending on my parents – and I’m already 20! It’s just not fair and I can’t even imagine how unnecessarily difficult life is for families with only an income of 8 dollars an hour. Minimum wage needs to be raised."
-Eloise Irwin, San Jose State University student
"Considering the fact that I am an international student and I am only permitted by my VISA to work on-campus (which I think is stupid), I would like to think that the raise in the minimum wage would apply to on-campus jobs too. I as an employee at the De Anza Bookstore was underpaid. $8 an hour was what I earned doing more than what was written on my job description. Nevertheless, after I quit and started to work somewhere else on campus. I got paid more, $10 to be precise, and that made a great difference for a student who has a very limited option in terms of earning “legally”. I know for a fact that people who I have bumped into at campus or outside campus who sell drugs said that they earned more doing it. And that is a really sad situation if you think of it. What I am about to say may sound like slanting, but I think most would agree to it. I think this is all due to the failing economic system of this country. Lesser jobs creates lesser demand, lesser demand in turn creates competition and when you have competition, at times they out of desperation people will settle for less. $8 is better than 0 cents. But I still don’t think that justifies the fact that people are being paid far too less for the services they provide. So, yes, I think the minimum wage should be raised."-Sakshamm Rai, De Anza College student
I believe that raising the minimum wage in San Jose will greatly benefit many low income families, students paying their own way through college, and the economy itself. Increasing the wage will create a mini-boom in consumerism and pump more money back into the economy. Being a student myself, I’ve come to realize that as I draw closer to adulthood, the amount of fees and tuition for college my family and I will be paying will only continue to stack up. Several students from low-income families spend endless hours working to build their college funds but end up neglecting their studies. Children are our future and by raising the minimum wage, more children (and adults) will have more opportunities and time to pursue other important aspects in their lives.
-Catherine Zhou, student at Milpitas High School; Milpitas, California.
I’m supporting Raise the Wage Campaign. Recent increase in the pricesof food and especially gas getting paid $8 is a bit too less, whichputs us on the back foot in terms of saving. And also rise in collegefees, it makes it harder. And I’m already having trouble to save moneyfor next quarter fees. Also I know quite a lot of full time working students with one job are having trouble to keep up with rise inprices; having hard time to pay their bills, especially increase incollege fees. So increase to at least $10 would provide that littlesupport to everybody which would surely make a big difference.
- Mubashir Sultan, Student at DeAnza College
I definitely agree with the blog writer! I mean the statistics arethere, if resources and health care are rising, why not wages rise aswell. While the prices of resources increase, then wages shouldincrease as well, making both concepts equal. If this was the case,most if not all people will have the opportunity to live a possiblelife. Plus, poverty and possibly the social class system will bediminished, if wages increase. At this time around, people arestruggling to make a decent living. Especially, women, since they arebeing discriminated; however, women have much great responsibilities.For example, we need to consider single mothers and the struggle theygo through with such low wages. By reading this blog, I am veryconvinced to support this movement, because at this modern time newopportunities are building up such as technology therefore we need to raise wages from $8 to $10 per hour.
-Maha Rajeh, De Anza College student, Cupertino, California
I earn $10 per hour and I can realize how hard things can be for me if I earn $8 per hour. Some times I feel like $10 is not even enough for this area. Silicon Valley is one of the most expensive areas in United States and the minimum wage in this area should be more than other areas because the cost of living is too high. Just look at the gas prices go few months back and compare the gas rates with today’s gas rates it has gone up but the workers who needs to fill up their cars are still getting the same amount of money which they were getting before when the gas was cheaper. I think and I support the minimum wage should be increased to $10.
-Syed Rizwan Haider Rizvi De Anza College
The constant increase in high-tech salaries, stock options, and benefits has significantly increased the cost of living in Silicon Valley. Furthermore, with high-tech companies going public, many people become quick rich that raises the real estate pricing too. The minimum wage in Silicon Valley that should be much higher than other places because it is just not possible to survive with $8/hour in Silicon Valley. The minimum wage should at least be $10/hr and must be evaluated annually to verify whether it is aligned with cost of living in Silicon Valley. Last, there should also be training programs available and sponsored by counties in Silicon Valley to help workers expand their skill sets to stay competitive in the industry.
-Syed Faraz Jafri
"Wages should be raised in San Jose because people can’t make a living off of the wages that are being provided. The money that people are making is not enough money to provide for their family. Minimum wage in San Jose is the worst by far. The people of San Jose demand that the wages go up to 10 dollars, this way people will be able to put more food on their table. People will be able to survive a little more than before. With the wages going up to 10 dollars people will be making up to 400 dollars a week compared to having wages at 8 dollars and people making 320 dollars a week. Overall San Jose wages should go up to 10 dollars and the people of San Jose will be a lot happier."-Don Washington
"I support it because if the cost of living increases then the minimum wage should increase. Regardless of the job we should a least b able to survive. "
-Tyrus Lewis
"I support a minimum wage increase to at least $10 because of the numerous expectations one must meet at any job. It is only fair to the employee to be paid a better hourly rate if they will be expected to perform to the standard each job requires. Most college students can only work part time which means any job paying minimum wage would have to pay for a full semester of classes, food, and gas. Basic neccessities such as food and gas add up. Surviving on $8/ hour means struggling to stay afloat amongst all the things they need to pay. A bigger paycheck would help out any student nowadays".
-Priscilla Aguilera, student at Ohlone College.
I support the Raise the Wage campaign. Since the cost of living has gradually increased and our economy has shown minimal upside, I think it is only right to raise the minimum wage to $10. As statistically shown, our basic needs such as food, gasoline, education, and housing have significantly increased. It is important to note that the average increase of these needs is roughly 53%. Therefore, raising the the minimum wage by 25% should be the right thing to do.
-Syed Imran Jafri
For more information, visit http://raisethewagesj.com. Support!
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