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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

California's Minimum Wage Hike Boosts Workers' Morale

Staff Reporters |
September 13, 2013 | 12:30 p.m. PDT

 

California workers will see a 25 percent increase in the minimum wage by 2016. (Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons)
California workers will see a 25 percent increase in the minimum wage by 2016. (Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons)
Minimum wage workers are all getting a raise over the next few years as California voted to increase its hourly rate by 25 percent on Thursday. The bill, approved by the state Senate and Assembly,  is now in the hands of Governor Jerry Brown – a strong supporter of the increase.

The bill was proposed by Democratic Assemblyman Luis Alejo. The state Senate voted 26-11 in favor of Alejo’s bill, followed by the Assembly's w 51-25 vote Thursday night. The minimum wage would increase to $9 an hour next July, and to $10 by January 2016.

Deemed as a “job killer” by Republicans and an honest effort to help strained families by Democrats, the increase would make California's minimum wage the highest in the country.

Just how will this pay hike affect workers?  Neon Tommy reporters fanned out across South Los Angeles to interview workers Friday.

Starbucks Coffee: Daisy - Kathy Zerbib

Daisy, a Starbucks employee for over six years, is excited for minimum wage to jump from $8 to $10 by 2016. Because of her longevity with the company, the 23-year-old isn’t one of the employees making a flat rate of $8 per hour. But she hopes the state legislation will impact her, as well. “Starbucks already pays me higher than minimum wage and I hope [the bill will] raise how much they pay me,” she says. The Los Angeles resident will no doubt feel the pay hike’s ripple effect on her income, too, when her paychecks come back a little bit thicker over the next few years.

Reach Film Reporter Kathy Zerbib here.

Chano's Driveway: Soto - Rachel Scott

The increase is expected to cause controversy within local businesses and fast food restaurants. Soto said he’s been working at Chano’s Driveway for years and they have always had a standard base for their employees. While he was surprised to hear the news of the increase in wages, he said it won’t change their business much. Chano’s Driveway is a small restaurant that specializes in authentic Mexican food and attracts tons of locals. “We’ll adapt to the change,” Soto said in response to the twenty-five percent raise. The change may be easy for a restaurant like Chano Driveway’s to adapt to, since only three or four people work in the restaurant on a given shift. But other restaurants may not be able to adapt as quickly. Amparo Glron has been an employee at Chipotle for two years and she expects the fast food chain to cut hours. “They may cut down hours or make more people part time instead of full time”, she stated. Glorn smiled when she heard the initial news and said she’s excited to get pay more. “We work really hard for the company”, she said and hard work deserves to be compensated.  

Reach Staff Reporter Rachel Scott here.

Denny's: Angela - Will Federman

Workers at the Denny's on the corner of Jefferson Blvd. and Hoover St. will also join the legions of other service workers that stand to be affected by the passage of AB10. Despite its sit-down restaurant atmosphere, employees at Denny's are currently paid minimum wage. Angela, one of the many minimum wage workers rushing around the 24-hour diner in a constant sense of urgency, was surprised by news of the legislative bill - only vaguely aware of its existence from a brief news crawl. Angela greeted the news of a twenty-five percent increase of pay with equal portions of skepticism and cautious optimism. "Are you serious?" she asked when informed about the bill. "They're going to increase wages how much?" Angela asked incredulously, "And when?" The middle-aged server, who currently makes eight dollars an hour, did not offer much detail on the personal impact of the minimum wage increase, but she seemed excited about the recent legislative development. "It would be a big difference in my life. Two dollars would definitely be a really big difference," she said. But she quickly offered an addendum to the unbridled burst of optimism. "Hopefully," Angela said, "It will be great when it happens." "If it happens," she added. It did not stop the news from brightening her day. As Angela continued to pour her umpteenth cup of coffee as a minimum wage server, she said that news of AB10, "made her day."

Reach Staff Reporter Will Federman here.

Subway: Abby Moralez - Alyssa Spear

Minimum wage is reaching new heights.  However, with the ups come the downs, and not all workers are thrilled with the increase. Abby Moralez, a 21 year old Subway employee, and Reseda High School graduate spoke out about how the new law will change his life.  He says he would rather “make less and get less taken away.  The more we make, the more they take.”  As minimum wage goes up, so too will taxes.  “I work hard, everyone in minimum wage paying jobs works hard.  I don’t want to pay more for those who don’t work.  I don’t want to pay for you if you’re just being lazy.” Moralez continued on by saying that raising the minimum wage doesn’t truly benefit the workers.  “In the end we won’t actually make any more money, if minimum wage goes up, so does everything else in life. A meal that once cost me $15.00 will now cost $20.00." The Subway veteran also expressed a concern for added responsibility and expectations. After two years of working there, he is happy with his job.  “For $10 you get more, but they expect more.” Overall, “$10 is too much for minimum wage,” concluded Moralez.

Reach Staff Reporter Alyssa Spear here.

OMG LaLas: Estellaa Auza - Madison Mills

While some workers are struggling to live on minimum wage, others are getting by without any salary at all.  Estellaa Auza is the manager of OMG LaLas, a food truck located at the crosswalk of Hoover and Jefferson on USC’s campus. Auza expected the truck, owned by her daughter, to receive great business from USC students. Unfortunately, her expectations have not yet become reality. She cannot take a salary from the truck until profits rise. “Our first week here we only had 30 people a day. This is now our third week- we had two days this week with 100 customers. We need at least 150 a day to make a profit,” according to Auza. The food truck’s financial struggle in its new location has led Auza to cut back on her own spending in order to save money for the truck. “I’m not making any income here. I’m doing it for my daughter. Our chef is my friend who comes in and works for me for free. Right now is the biggest financial struggle I’ve ever had in my life,” said Auza. Immigrating to America from Colombia when she was 15, Auza immediately started working while struggling to graduate from high school. Her hard work continued into her adult life and allowed her to send her daughter to college. She describes herself as a business woman that loves her work despite its challenges. “I may be struggling right now, but I have a roof over my head and food to eat. I’m putting all of my money back into the truck,” Auza says.

Reach Staff Reporter Madison Mills here.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority: Ronnie Berg - Matthew Tinoco

Ronnie Berg is a safety ambassador for Los Angeles County Metro. He works at the Expo Park/USC station to help guide people to their destination once get off the train. Ronnie is not a minimum wage worker, and he sees the bill as a sort-of mixed blessing. On one hand it helps those who make the least: “The person who is working two jobs is making minimum wage. If they raise the wage, they’ll get a 25% raise on both jobs. $10 dollars is more. That’s a step in the right direction.” But Berg also added that these benefits would be null if “of course [this person] is the one person who gets laid off to cover the additional costs… For that person, the raise doesn’t help at all.” Berg was also concerned about rising costs. “It’ll increase the price of the product to compensate for higher costs. They’ll get a raise, but it will increase the price of the product or service. So I’ll have to get a raise to cover that cost.” Berg added, “They’re doing it for good reasons, because who can live on eight dollars an hour. You have to work for two or three jobs. But then again, if everything costs more, what sets eight dollars apart from ten dollars?”

Reach Staff Reporter Matthew Tinoco here.

OMG Lalas: Jorge Cinco - Daffany Chan

Forty-nine-year old Mexican immigrant Jorge Cinco has never imagined a life outside the kitchen. “I love working in the kitchen. I’ve cooked for 17 years,” he said. Cinco has been a chef for popular fast food chain Wing-stop for eight years and added a cooking job at Mexican food truck OMG Lalas four weeks ago. In total, Cinco juggles both jobs working more than sixty hours a week. It’s a hectic schedule, but Cinco explains that he has to work the long hours to pay for his $1,600 per month Long Beach apartment and his 21 year old son’s mechanic schooling. He gets paid $8.75 per hour at both jobs. Although Cinco is skeptical that the minimum wage will actually be raised, Cinco expresses nothing but love for the United States and his job at the food truck. “In America we have a hard life, but in Mexico its double as hard. Gas is the same price in Mexico but we make much less,” he said. Cinco hopes to start his own Mexican restaurant one day, but doesn’t see it happening anytime soon. “First I must see my son finish school, then I will think about me,” he said.

Reach Staff Reporter Daffany Chan here.

Wendy's: Yesenia Zuniga - Max Schwartz

Eighteen-year-old Wendy’s employee Yesenia Zuniga is happy about the minimum wage increase that Governor Brown is expected to sign. Zuniga is from South Los Angeles and is the youngest in a family of eight. She has been working at Wendy’s for five months to earn money for college. She thinks the increased minimum wage will help, “A lot,” and said, “I think it will help with college, financially.” She wants to go to college and become a detective, which would set her apart from her siblings because they did not go to college. Zuniga added that it would help her family.

Reach Senior Reporter Max Schwartz here.

Superior Grocers: Manager - Max Schwartz

A manager for Superior Grocers, who wanted to remain anonymous because he gave his personal thought and not the position of his employer, talked about what the minimum wage increase would do for the stores. He said, “Costs have been going up forever,” to make the point that the price of goods has been increasing. “[The bill is] is just now going through…something has to give,” the employee said. He said that the company, “will have to look at…cost structure,” to determine what this means for the price of goods and for consumers. He added, “If minimum wages goes up, it goes up for everyone.” This means that wages will also go up for farmers, which could result in an increased price of produce for the grocery store.

Reach Senior Reporter Max Schwartz here.

Subway: Christina Huarta - Celeste Alvarez

For college student Christina Huarta, 21, the prospect of earning anything above the current minimum wage is a good thing in her book. “I think it’s good especially for the students because some of them don’t get financial aid and only work part time,” Huarta said. “This is what they need to help them get books and pay tuition, so I think this great.” Starting her third year at Los Angeles Trade Technical Community College this fall, Huarta started her Friday morning at her part time job in Subway on Figueroa Street as she has been doing for the past month. “A lot of people need this because they have kids and their raising families on this wage,” Huarta said. “I mean $8 for a lot of people is nothing and they’ve been working for years so hopefully it does go up.” However, Huarta did clarify that she felt the proposed minimum wage increase should only effect a select jobs. “I think it depends on the place too,” Huarta said. “If it’s more for fast food joints then yeah because we have to deal with a lot of people.” Huarta noted that a minimum wage increase shouldn't help employees that work “easy” jobs like clothing stores.

Reach Staff Reporter Celeste Alvarez here.

Yoshinoya: Andrea - Calum Hayes

A first generation immigrant from Romania working at Yoshinoya in University Village, Andrea hadn’t heard about the proposed 25% increase in the minimum wage. “So it doesn’t help everyone else not making very much?” “I’m already making ten dollars an hour, so it doesn’t help. I’m going to work less though. They’re not going to want to pay us all $10 an hour.” Andrea says, “People think this is an easy job, maybe I can’t work that well with my brain but I can do a lot physically. I work hard. Rent keeps going up and the wages don’t go with it. Now I’m going to be back at the bottom. Its good they’re paying people more but ten dollars an hour is nothing.” Talking about the workers behind her in the back Andrea says “If I were one of them I wouldn’t have made it. They’re making minimum wage and they work all day. I’m lucky, my husband is a teacher so he makes a little more but if I was one of them (pointing to the back again) I wouldn’t make it.” She says it isn’t all bad though, “in my country the government doesn’t help like it does here. There’s no food stamps, none of it. Ten dollars is nothing but at least the government is helping us.”

Reach Staff Reporter Calum Hayes here.

Subway: Juana Diaz - Katie Fell

When the idea of a greater income is brought to attention, many people would be excited knowing that they will receive more money. That wasn’t the case for Juana Diaz, a twenty-six year old employee who has worked at Subway for the past two years. She graduated Jefferson High School in Los Angeles in 2005. Without attending college, Diaz has shifted work from several different fast-food restaurants throughout the Los Angeles County. When asked about how the proposed California law will affect her life, she humbly answered that a greater wage will be equivalent to her current eight dollars an hour wage. “If I get ten dollars an hour, it will be the same because the more I get paid, the more I will spend. As minimum wage increases, so do the prices of everything else.” She mentioned that receiving a higher wage will not only make it difficult to obtain a job elsewhere because companies will have to pay their employees more, but the greater wages will also trigger higher taxes that she will have to pay. “Every day I come to work, I work really hard. I see everyone else here working just as hard and it is unfair for us to be paying taxes for people who are too lazy to get a job,” said Juana as she diligently worked, not bothered by the multiple questions being asked. As the year 2016 will quickly approach, Diaz is confident that she will no longer be an employee of Subway and is hopeful that she will be out of the fast-food industry.

Reach Staff Reporter Katie Fell here.

Carl's Jr.: Anonymous Employee - Zihao Yang

The bill of increasing minimum wages to $10 an hour in California by January 2016 was passed on Thursday. While some people think minimum wage increase will help many workers better off, some people think it’s going to hurt employment in general, the others are just apathetic towards the issue. An employee of Carl’s Jr. on S. Figueroa St., 37, says that there will be no evident effect on her in the short run. “As you see,” she pointed at the menu, “the food price is increasing. It’s just fair to increase the bottom line of hourly wage.” When asked about if it would get harder to get a new job in the long run, she says that the situation will not change a lot for her. “I don’t really care because I don’t work on the minimum wage,” she says.

Reach Staff Reporter Zihao Yang here.

Subway: Robert Gallego - Kristy Plaza

Minimum wage workers like Roberto Gallego will be most affected by the new bill. However, he has a different opinion regarding the matter. Gallego works for Subway on 28th and Figueroa Street. He has been working minimum wage jobs for about 15 years. Since 11th grade he has been depending on his meager salary. Gallego wasn’t able to finish high school because he had to leave school and work to make money to help his family. At the young age of 17, he bared the responsibility of providing for his family. Even now, he has to work two jobs to make ends meet. He works as a handyman at the Radisson Hotel on Figueroa Street. Gallego said, in regards to the bill, “It’s not going to affect me. I need two jobs to survive. I needed help before. It’s too late now.” He sees this increase as a game the state plays, in the sense that the state makes promises that it doesn't keep. Gallego says he won’t be benefited by the $10 because he is able to survive because of his two jobs. However, he sounded almost apathetic about the bill, as if it will make no change. He holds little faith that it will. 

Reach Executive Producer Kristy Plaza here.



 

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