Minimum wage goes up in South Bay — with mixed reaction

In 2017, Kirk Vartan turned his award-winning A Slice of New York pizza into a co-op, cutting his workers into equal partnership.

Part of the deal includes being paid at least $21 an hour to start, attributed in part to the San Jose business’s unique structure. The pay rate is much higher than city’s minimum wage of $15.25 an hour, and closer to Vartan’s goal of a living wage for his workers.