Posted on: Monday, March 3, 2003

Santa Fe OKs minimum pay of $8.50 an hour

By Susan Montoya Bryan
Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. — The City Council approved an ordinance last week to require businesses and nonprofit organizations to pay workers no less than $8.50 an hour.

Scores of local governments around the country have set their own minimum wages affecting employers with government contracts, but the Santa Fe ordinance goes farther, covering all workers not directly employed by the government.

The City Council last year agreed to raise the hourly minimum wage for city workers and those of most city contractors to $8.50 an hour.

The proposal passed Thursday will include private businesses and nonprofit groups with 25 or more workers, and will start in January.

The measure passed in a 7-1 vote after six hours of public comment and debate.

The state minimum wage is $4.25 an hour. The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour.

Proponents of the higher minimum argued that a living wage was desperately needed by a workforce often trapped in low-paying hospitality industry jobs.

"The working-class people of this town have for decades helped business flourish," said resident Gloria Mendoza. "This ordinance is trying to embrace the people who make it possible for businesses to flourish."

Opponents, including business leaders, said the proposed minimum would force higher prices, layoffs and the closure of marginal businesses. They also said the proposal would put Santa Fe at a disadvantage in attracting new employers.

"You have no right and you have no responsibility to come between me and my employees," said business owner Michael Chapman.

Santa Fe, an adobe mecca for tourists and some Hollywood stars, has become increasingly expensive over the years.

Several groups in New Mexico, including the Santa Fe Lodgers Association and New Mexicans for Free Enterprise, are planning to draft court challenges to the ordinance.