California minimum wage increase will bring unemployment

I’ve been an employee at an automotive repair shop in San Luis Obispo for 15 years now. I started working a full-time position at $9 an hour. Though I had an associate degree in automotives, my starting wage was fitting because the quantity and quality of work I was able to produce was low.

I was one of numerous people without experience over the years who the owner was kind enough to risk hiring and give on-the-job training. After talking to him about California raising the minimum wage to $15<TH>an hour, and knowing from experience what a newcomer to the industry can produce, we determined that we will no longer be able to hire someone like one of our high school interns, or anyone else wanting to enter the industry for the first time.

Thanks, California, for the wave of part-time jobs and unemployment that’s coming.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 12:43 AM with the headline "California minimum wage increase will bring unemployment."