Starting in January 2021, the new minimum wage will be $15 an hour from $13 an hour. Burlingame City Council made this decision in order to better the community and support citizens.“So this was mostly just to help improve the lives of citizens, so they could make a sustainable like amount, enough to live in Burlingame,” Mayor Emily Beach, said. 

Oftentimes minimum-wage workers in Burlingame have to work two jobs just to make ends meet, which Beach does not think is a sustainable solution. 

“I think it’s our recognition that we live in a much more expensive part of the state than other places,” Beach said.

However, the news of a wage increase for minimum wage workers was not taken well by everyone and some people disagreed with the new minimum wage as it could impact the survival of many restaurants.

“Full service sit down restaurants are most concerned about it, and counter service restaurants,” Beach said. 

Minki Yeo graduated from Mills High School in 2018 and during his high school carrer worked at Tous Les Jours when he was in high school. When he was in high school, the minimum wage was $10.50 an hour. 

“The living expenses in the Bay Area makes it one of the most challenging places to even scrape by, so, therefore, the minimum wage rise is a clear advantage for the people who can now have a little more relief in their financial securities,” Yeo said.

Yeo feels that the $10.50 wage he earned wasn’t bad as it depends on how one spends their money.

“No it wasn’t bad as a teen, a lot better than $7.25 like in Texas, where I now live, but no cap, I think the more money you get, the better. You get to spend it wisely and you spend it on the actual things you need,” Yeo said.

“It’ll certainly benefit high school students that work,” Beach said.