Santa Clara County Considers Minimum Wage Hike

SAN JOSE (KCBS) - A proposal from Supervisor Dave Cortese would raise the minimum wage in the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County to $10 an hour, matching the new minimum wage recently approved by voters in San Jose.

"We have unincorporated county areas side by side with city areas, and so from one block to the next we have people receiving different wages. Now we have businesses paying different wages. It's really not fair and appropriate," Cortese said.

The statewide minimum wage would go up to $8.25 per hour if a bill passed by the California Assembly this week becomes law. The bill from Watsoville Assemblyman Luis Alejo is opposed by business groups that claim the minimum wage hike would eliminate more than 60,000 jobs over the next decade.

A report on the impact of the Santa Clara County ordinance should be finished by August, Cortese said.

When it comes to minimum wage, the entire state could wind up following San Jose's lead, said Scott Myers-Lipton, the San Jose State University sociology professor whose students spearheaded the successful wage referendum last November.

"Many, many cities across California that are looking at this increase up to $10," he said.

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