While many students had their eyes only on Proposition 30 this November, a group of students from San Jose State University had set their sites on another measure – one that would pass and raise the city’s minimum wage from $8 to $10.
The idea originated from the group of SJSU sociology students, who worked with labor organizations to lead the minimum wage campaign.
Scott Myers-Lipton, a sociology professor at SJSU, was the faculty adviser for the group of students.
According to Myers-Lipton, a sociology student came to him with the idea of raising the minimum wage in 2010.
Marisela Castro, one of Myers-Lipton’s students, saw that kids who participated in the after-school program she worked at were leaving hungry because their parents made only minimum wage, according to Myers-Lipton.
“This social injustice drove [Castro] to act,” Myers-Lipton said. “[Castro] took a Social Action course with the goal of increasing the minimum wage to $10 an hour in San Jose.”
In her sociology course, Castro researched the importance of higher minimum wage cities like Washington, D.C. and how, by raising minimum wage, unemployment could decrease, Myers-Lipton said.
Following her research, Castro and her student colleagues conducted a poll with the citizens of San Jose about raising the minimum wage from $8 to $10, in an effort to reduce unemployment and stimulate the local economy.
After the majority of citizens supported the poll, organizations such as the South Bay Labor Council and United Way also expressed their support for the project, Myers-Lipton said.
To get the measure on the ballot, the sociology students collected 36,000 signatures of support when only 19,200 were needed, according to Myers-Lipton.
After months of campaigning, voters turned out on Nov. 6 and supported the measure with a 59 percent “yes” vote.
“If you work hard and play by the rules, you deserve a fair wage,” Myers-Lipton said. “Increasing the minimum wage encourages self-sufficiency and reduces the need for government services.”
For some students involved in the project, like sociology major Albert R. Perez, the mission to raise the minimum wage was very important.
“I provided a lot of the spark that was necessary to kick it in gear,” Perez said. “All of our members played an integral part in the campaign.”
While this was Perez’s first social campaign, he said he plans to work on more within his community.
For some Cal State Long Beach students, like freshman mechanical engineering major Victor Espinoza, the idea of students raising the minimum wage is inspiring.
“A two-dollar increase can go a long way,” Espinoza said. “It is very reassuring and inspiring to know that anybody [students] can make a difference if they try.”