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SJSU Students Push For Higher City Minimum Wage

SAN JOSE (KCBS) – Students at San Jose State are launching an initiative to raise that city's minimum wage to one of the highest in the nation as the result of one very ambitious sociology class.

When students in the "Social Action" class at San Jose State found out that the city's minimum wage of $8-per-hour was lower than that Oregon, Washington and Nevada, they decided to try to raise it. Professor Scott Meyers-Lipton said that they are now leading a signature gathering campaign to put an initiative on the November ballot to boost the minimum wage in the city to $10.00 per hour.

KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:

"Few people in this country and around the world have always been the moral conscious and the voice of this nation, and it's a great thing to see it right here at San Jose State," said Meyers-Lipton.

The students have 180 days to collect nearly 20,000 signatures.

Many local businesses oppose the idea, asserting that it's a job-killer.

San Francisco currently has the highest minimum wage in the country at $10.24 per hour.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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