Episode 562: A Mall Divided

Enlarge this image Steve Henn/NPR Steve Henn/NPR

Note: This episode originally ran in August 2014.

The Westfield Valley Fair Mall in California is like any other mall, except for one thing: Half of it is in the city of San Jose, and the other half is in the city of Santa Clara. The boundary line runs right through the mall.

For a long time, this didn't matter. But in 2012, one city — San Jose — raised its minimum wage from $8 an hour to $10 an hour. This change created two economic worlds within a single, large building. Employees doing more or less the same work, just steps away from each other, started making different wages.

On today's show: Minimum wage stories from a single mall. What happens when some stores suddenly have to pay their workers more — and others are still paying less.



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