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The cities of Mountain View and Sunnyvale will each be hosting public meetings seeking input on the regional increase to the minimum wage.
The current minimum wage in both Mountain View and Sunnyvale is $10.30 per hour. Before the end of this year, both city councils will receive an update on their minimum wage laws and will consider proposed ordinances to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2018.
The Mountain View community meeting will take place at the Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave. on Wednesday, Sept. 2, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The Sunnyvale meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 3, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
In addition to the two meetings, community members are invited to provide feedback to both city councils. To comment online, go to the Mountain View Open City Hall forum, which will be available starting on Sept. 1 at mountainview.gov/open-city-hall. Community members are also invited to address the City Council at its meeting on Oct. 27.
Yes, boosting the minimum wage, if only to this modest level, is the least we can do in such an economically thriving region.
Sure, lets have small business fail, not all small business are loaded with money like Fast food places.
Lets make them suffer by having less workers yet more work. Might as well give them pensions too. Oh yes and unionize them so they can put more money into the Leftist Communist Union pacts.
Let’s ensure the minimum wage is sustainable once we cycle back into a recession.
I’d also be more supportive if there were two tiers – a wage for those 19 years and older, and a wage for those under 19, who are less likely to be living on their own or filling the role as primary breadwinner in supporting a family.
“Oh yes and unionize them so they can put more money into the Leftist Communist Union pacts.”
Do you EVER get out of your house? And do you do anything but read/listen to right-wing media and make crazy statements on discussion boards?
Those of us in MV not getting this raise can afford to pay a bit more for MV goods and services. Those getting the raise can also afford it if they live in MV. No losers.
No minimum wage hike. To Monta Loma if you thinks unions are not tools of the left out to bankrupt every city, state, and the fed govt with gold plated pensions then the facts about union abuses can easily be found on the National Right to Work foundations website. Compulsory unionism in non right to work states like California is wrong. Look at the Dept of commerce data on unemployment rates and job growth and you’ll see that right to work states growth outpaces places like California. These are not crazy statements but real facts that are easily verified.
If you think your so-called “facts” are going to change anyone’s mind, you’re more than a few bricks shy of a full load.
You know what “right to work” is called by people in states that live in those particular states where it is policy? “Right to slave.”
Give. Me. A Break.
To Monta Loma: go ahead and insult other’s intelligence instead of responding logically and articulately. This is an open forum for all views even ones that may make you insecure. Unions are a big factor in economic problems. Have you even heard of the City of Detroit bankruptcy and its root cause being unaffordable pension commitments to the unions? Right to work means having a job without have to pay tribute to an unwanted union.
Yep — not only did you drink the right-wing Kool-Aid, you went for seconds AND thirds.
And you wouldn’t know the first thing about facts, as your previous posts on this website have shown.
The MW is political pandering to special interest groups. For those who depend on entry level jobs, imposing a MW is like a price control. While most economic studies show a modest increase In unemployment among youth, it seems that this is due to small increases in the MW? So far , the large increases have started to have big impacts on small firms with some shutting down.
# Scott Lamb, Ah yes, you point to ultra liberal politician Bernie.
I have worked at fast food places when I was younger and yes for minimum wage during summer breaks and worked part time during school.
The economy can take care of itself. If the wages are too low, then guess what, the company will not be able to find workers, so they would have to raise the pay. NO outside government force needed. Government meddling in something it has no clue about and that is how to live within ones means. Just look at massive amount of dept it has. If a company were to be run like our govt runs, it would of failed a long time ago.
@ Waverly troll, If you think we are a few bricks low on a full load, then you must not even have a load yet. Go back to school and try and learn something.
Once again, nothing but wingnut propaganda from you.
And really — you USED to work in fast food? You mean you STILL work in fast food. And get back to us when you actually graduate from middle school.
Unfortunately when you reward the lowest paid workers the others are not happy. (IE those with $15, $16, $17 … salary) or in this case where a boss gave raise everyone’s pay to $70k min.
The New York Times reports that Gravity “most valued” members have left the company, “spurred in part by their view that it was unfair to double the pay of some new hires while the longest-serving staff members got small or no raises
One can prescribe to the idea of unemotional economic theory “wait for the market to adjust wages”, or one can follow a practical and empathetic path, valuing people as more of an ongoing part of society and not merely as economic cogs to be discarded at the earliest convenience.
For those going the economic theory route, consider that it is a little more sloppy than the sanitized and simplified argument that is typically made of: preserving minimum wage rates in the face of a rapidly increasing cost of living will save businesses.
Waiting to adjust wages until MW workers are forced to quit and move away (due to cost of living outpacing wages) forces businesses to go through a painful period of high turnover rates (higher retraining and documentation costs) and poor customer service (retraining employees with no company history and low motivation to stay while contemplating options for working elsewhere) until area wide adjustments to an organically-determined, higher minimum wage is normalized. Most business owners would not look forward to this period especially considering that owners wouldn’t be able to predict where that organic rate would settle in at making financial planning difficult. Customers may also not want the hassle of dealing with an inexperienced, rotating staff and could be lost to other, more predictable options like Amazon simply because of the ease and consistency of the experience regardless of price (even more true for those non-MW workers who small businesses may depend on and who can afford it).
Returning to that economic theory take, the small business that fails due to a lack of preparation for adaptation deserves to fail… survival of the fittest.
Whining by business owners about not wanting to believe the evolving real costs of a key resource (in this case the Silicon Valley low wage labor force) makes one wonder if those business owners are really as attached to the economic theory as they say they are OR if they are focused on self-interests to a fault.
It should be that business owners who are most worried about MW issues would be equally as worried about influencing factors that would keep costs of living low (limiting office development, providing low income housing, etc.) so they wouldn’t have to worry about wage increases mandated or not. Unfortunately what I see on these boards is that often small business owners/promoters can’t see the forest for the trees.
To empathetic Practcallity,
You are anything but empathetic. You are not empathetic to economic realities. One economic reality is that not everyone is skilled or productive enough to be paid $15 per hour. The market will obviously adjust to imposition of binding MW’s. So what if people lose jobs or business’s fail because of excessive labor costs. The fact that your policy helped some and hurt others is an acceptable trade off. Like most government bureaucrats you don’t believe that two people should be allowed to freely bargain over their employment conditions. You violates personal boundaries like its no big deal. Perhaps you’re OK with others violating your personal boundaries and imposing their beliefs on you.
@Political Pandering
“One economic reality is that not everyone is skilled or productive enough to be paid $15 per hour.”
What I described is the consequences of letting supply and demand take hold while businesses suffer through an event that’s somewhat treatable using a moderate smoothing solution through MW adjustments. If you think labor costs are defined only by skill sets and productivity, Foothill has some economics and business classes you could take…
“So what if people lose jobs or business’s fail because of excessive labor costs.”
Businesses that are blind to the effect environmental factors such as cost of living and inflation have on their labor force deserve to fail. The increasing cost of living in Silicon Valley has been well covered in the media. Business leaders who have ignored the effects it could have on their businesses have no one to blame but themselves. It’s hard to empathize with those who have chosen to fail in this way; easy to empathize with those who lose their jobs because of the failure of those in decision making positions in those businesses. We can try and get business leaders to understand the risk they take in not preparing for wage increases but some are more stubborn than others. This is one reason MW proposals gain acceptance: trying to save businesses from themselves.
MW or not, labor costs are going to go up in Silicon Valley as low wage workers are priced out and move away leaving fewer to pick up those jobs. Some businesses get it already and have been adjusting wages ahead of any proposed MW hikes in hopes to preserve the staff and customers they have. They see the forest while others … well, others are stuck in a bygone era, cynically claiming political agendas are at play: good luck with that.
Everyone agrees it’s more expensive to live here and wages are higher for more productive jobs. But to suggest that low skilled job employers should be forced to raise their wages without an increase in productivity is nonsense. How will they cover the forced increase? Maybe raise prices if possible but will likely reduce employment. Somehow you confuse the higher cost of living with an automatic pay raise without any increase in productivity. The higher wages in this area are a reflection of increased productivity from more human capital . Notice it’s the tech workers who benefit mostly from this increase in demand for labor.
You are not sympathetic to the use of government force imposed on labor markets that leads to the distortion of the workforce. The MW is one of the causes of high unemployment for minority youth . how would you explain the higher rates?
@Political Pandering
Simply put: inputs (e.g. labor, an aluminum ingot, water, etc.) in short supply will increase in price regardless of any changes in productivity. This is the most basic of economic concepts. If there were a glut of low wage workers or an expectation that their would be a glut in the near future, we wouldn’t be having this discussion and city governments (and citizens) wouldn’t be as concerned.
Without any response to environmental factors, low skilled job employers will be facing a shortage as their market for employees shrinks. This shortage *will be forced* by either government AND/OR the market and business owners will have to: pay higher wages, find a novel way to do without employees, raise prices, or fail. It’s time to get your head out of the sand and face the situation as it is, not how you’d like it to be.
Are you suggesting businesses rely on teen labor (usually quite limited and temporary due to school schedules and educational goals)? How will you cover the constant retraining costs you are imposing on businesses by relying on such a high-turnover (and limited) segment of the labor market?
Customer service at stores that don’t address these issues will go down. Basic productivity takes labor. Ideally you’d like more productivity for more pay, but supply not productivity is the issue here. As employers face less and less choices in their hiring, how do you suggest they find *real* solutions to maintaining a consistent workforce with pay that hasn’t adjusted effectively to support living expenses for years?
If as you say these inputs are in short supply, then their prices would also rise and the more productive units will be used. This is basic demand and supply. So why is there a need to impose price controls on wages if the scarcity of labor will lead to employers competing for fewer workers and bidding up wages with out government coercion?
If there were a glut of workers, then wages would be lower to accommodate the excess supply.
Learn some economics and maybe you can make a coherent argument. Your arguments don’t support a MW. They do just the opposite because you dont understand how open markets work.
Your argument about teenagers is silly because demand for retail services varies throughout the day. As you suggest, if there really is a scarcity of labor, employers would bid up wages to reflect the lower supply. This is an argument for letting the market work, not an argument for government price controls.
@ Scott,
Just like with my money, I’m a proud conservative and I indorse Trump.
I’m for Capitalistic America, not Socialistic AmeriKa which Bernie and his cohorts stand for. I believe in a Capitalistic Society where money is the reward for hard work and long hours. And I believe in small business, your small mom and pop type shops.
“Not surprised to hear you worked for minimum wage many years ago”
Yes, I was not born with a golden spoon in my mouth like some. I worked hard to get where I’m at. Sure i made the going rate back than and i was able to pay for my drivers training classes and what nots. And I learned the value of money and I learned how to SAVE. How long ago i worked for minimum wage, well here is a riddle for you, I made a dollar more then the going price of a gallon of milk back than. Does that blow your perception of what prices were like back than?
The most important thing I learned was that I would do everything in my power not to do that type of work for the rest of my life, i went to school and learned and made things better for myself. Lets put it this way, if i wanted to i could retire today and I’m no where near 65.
@Waverly troll, What’s the matter, can’t find new thoughts, you need to barrow mine? Go back under the bridge!!
@Sure, lets have business fail
Just one question, why did you get the benefit of having a decent minimum wage? Did you deserve it more then the people who could get it today.
“Yes, I was not born with a golden spoon in my mouth like some. I worked hard to get where I’m at. Sure i made the going rate back than and i was able to pay for my drivers training classes and what nots.”
The going rate these days does not get folks what it did when you were receiving it. Clear sign is when full time workers are eligible for welfare.
No one is asking for handouts, just a level playing field.
“What’s the matter, can’t find new thoughts, you need to barrow mine?”
You have thoughts? You can’t even spell.
Go back to flipping burgers, troll.
@al, You missed my riddle, please go back and reread, there you can find my answer to your question of what I was being paid and how little it got me.
@waverly troll, I never flipped burgers in my life, I’ll leave that to you.
Of course you haven’t flipped burgers — that would require a functioning brain. Which you do NOT have.
@Sure, lets have small business fail:
If the minimum wage had kept up with productivity and inflation since 1968, it would be more than $26 an hour today. http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-introduces-bill-for-15-an-hour-minimum-wage
How do you imagine small businesses keep alive in 1968?
Have you ever worked a minimum-wage job? How many years ago? How much did you earn then? Do you know what that is in 2015 dollars?
@Sure, lets have small business fail:
Yes, I’m a proud liberal, and I wish more of our politicians were like Bernie Sanders.
Not surprised to hear you worked for minimum wage many years ago. But I think you missed the point of my question, which was the first in a sequence. Please answer the rest. How many years ago? How much did you earn then? Do you know what that is in 2015 dollars? I’ll add one more question: why shouldn’t people today benefit from the minimum wage as much as you did then?