Saturday, November 17, 2007

Youth Rally Backs SF's 'Living Wage'

By Dan Boyd
Journal Staff Writer
    Eliza Lutz dropped out of high school at age 14, mostly out of boredom.
    Now 17 and a student at Santa Fe Community College, Lutz thinks there are reasons other students will follow her path, but she doesn't believe the allure of an increased minimum wage is one of them.
    "People think we're going to buy bling," Lutz said. "Can you really buy bling for $9.50 (an hour)?"
    Lutz joined some 20 other young people Friday at a rally in support of amendments to Santa Fe's trail-blazing "living wage" ordinance, which the City Council will vote on Nov. 28.
    The argument that a beefed-up minimum wage could have a negative impact on the younger generation has been a hard one to shake, despite the fact city-sponsored studies have shown no such correlation.
    Rumors swirled at Friday's rally, held at the south-side library, that a "youth exemption" could be carved out that would pay young workers less than adults.
    If that's the case, Councilor Carmichael Dominguez hasn't seen it yet.
    Dominguez, a former school board member, said he doesn't favor exempting kids from the minimum wage but would still like to see more research on exactly how the law has impacted high schoolers in particular.
    "There's not enough data," he said.
Santa Fe first enacted its living wage law on June 2004 after several years of discussions and a flurry of legal challenges.
    The wage was originally set at $8.50 per hour and was then increased to $9.50 per hour on Jan. 1, 2006.
    The rate had been slated to increase once again in 2008, to $10.50, but a broad coalition of business interests, unions and public officials announced earlier this year they'd agreed to put off the increase and instead broaden the living wage to include all employees.
    The current law only applies to businesses that employ 25 or more workers, or about 60 percent of Santa Fe's work force. Such a loophole has hindered compliance, proponents of the change say, and created an uneven playing field.
    The ordinance, if it passes, would also implement yearly minimum wage increases, starting in January 2009, based on the consumer price index.
    Despite its popularity, the living wage hasn't been embraced by all businesses.
Arby's Roast Beef Restaurant recently reached an agreement with the city after originally arguing it didn't have to pay its employees the living wage since the restaurant had fewer than 25 workers at that particular franchise. City attorneys disagreed.
    One former Arby's employee, Jazmin Armenta, testified Friday she's still waiting for her back pay.
    Such stories are proof to current school board president Frank Montaño there's still work to be done on the minimum wage front.
    He urged all students present Friday to show up and speak when the City Council takes up the issue in less than two weeks.
    "Politicians fear the concern of the masses," Montaño said. "You cannot treat children less than you do adults."
Montaño also said the argument that adolescents might be tempted by the living wage to leave school and work is "absurd."
    Thus far, the numbers seem to back up such assertions. The study released in September concluded the living wage hasn't increased unemployment or slowed the city's economic growth.
    The lone potential downfall the study unearthed was the impact on nonprofit organizations that provide vocational services to those with disabilities.
    Of the three organizations surveyed, two said they had to reduce or eliminate program offerings, and one closed its doors for good. It was unclear if the minimum wage increase was the driving factor behind that decision.