Working Class
Should Stand Up
Re: the Oct. 24 column by Santa Fe City Councilor Rebecca Wurzberger and Coronado Paint and Tile owner Buddy Roybal about extending Santa Fe's living wage law to all
businesses:
It's wonderful to hear that Councilor Wurzberger
and Mr. Roybal from Coronado Paints are doing so well
living in Santa Fe. I am sure that most of their friends and acquaintances are
also faring well. Their shopping trips must be exciting— they probably don't
shop at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Big Lots, Lowe's Supermarket or any of the panaderias. Instead, they're having wonderful dinners at
all those fancy restaurants. The number of people who are as fortunate as Ms. Wurzberger and Buddy Roybal
deserve to splurge since they have probably worked their way up through the
workforce and can now reap the benefits of their labors.
However, just because they are living a more than
comfortable life, why do they think that $9.50 an hour will give all workers in
I believe that their commentary was not aimed at the working
class people of
Small businesses that were supposed to be spared (will find
this) is no longer the case. Most small businesses were keeping up if not giving
higher wages before the living wage law. We were supposed to protect those
small businesses. The ordinance was supposed to force corporate businesses from
paying their employees more. Now, the council wants all businesses (small or
large) to pay $9.50. Are Coss, Chavez, Ortiz, Heldmeyer
and Bushee going to stand up for the small businesses
now? I don't think so. Are the Living Wage Network, unions and churches going
to support the struggling working class people once more? I don't think so. Is
Mayor Coss going to continue to champion labor issues? I don't think so.
So who will stand up for the working class people? The only
ones who can are the working class people themselves. Only they can get (the
promised) $10.50 an hour come January. But if they choose to ignore how they
are being abandoned, so be it. Then they will have to continue to struggle: to
meet their bills, buy groceries, pay their utilities, pay their rent, clothe
their families and continue to live in
There are people in this community who strongly and
passionately support the people, children and grandchildren who are barely
making it in
Gloria Mendoza