San Leandro Residents Recall Their First Jobs

Law-makers and workers are focusing more and more on the minimum wage.   Patch used information provided by the United States Census Bureau to show how many households in San Leandro are earning $25,000 or less.  Fast food workers from across the country are asking for higher wages according to the Christian Science Monitor. 

We asked our Facebook followers about their first jobs and whether those jobs were minimum wage.

Patricia Martin began her work life in the newspaper business.  She related, “First job was delivering newspapers in 1970. quickly followed by numerous babysitting gigs. i'm all for raising the minimum wage.”

Sandra Marples got a taste of the difference between union pay and non-union pay early in her career.  She wrote on Facebook, “My first job was at Faria Bros Hardware in 1983 at minimum wage of $3.35/hr. Left there about a year later and started working at Straw Hat Pizza. They were union so the pay was $5.22/hr. We thought we were rich! Haha”

Read all the responses on the San Leandro Patch Facebook page.

In 1955 the Federal minimum wage was $.75 an hour and has increased over the years to today’s rate of $7.25 an hour.  Some states have a minimum wage different from the federal rate.  The minimum wage for hourly workers in California is $8.00 an hour and workers in San Francisco and San Jose enjoy minimum wages over $10.00 an hour.

What was your first job?  Was it a minimum wage job?  Tell us in comments.