Santa Fe's workers pay rose-and so did the stakes.
***image3***The Dec. 14 emotionally charged City Council meeting on the next phase of Santa Fe's living wage law was a fitting swan song in a year with a seemingly endless slew of battles over the issue.
Implemented in June, 2004, the law mandates all local businesses with 25 or more employees pay workers a minimum wage of $8.50 per hour.
The latest discussion, held at the Sweeney Convention Center, was over a proposal from City Councilor David Pfeffer, who wanted to delay the implementation of the law's second pay raise to $9.50, slated for 2006.
More than 60 living wage advocates, union leaders, local clergy and community members showed up to voice opposition to Pfeffer's proposal.
"I've been in labor for 31 years, and people need to make a living," long-time St. Vincent nurse and local health care union leader Delma DeLora said to a cheering crowd just prior to the meeting's start.
After three hours of testimony, the City Council instead passed an amendment, from City Councilor Patti Bushee, which allows the hike to $9.50 but mandates further research, studies and Council discussion before a third increase to $10.50, set for 2008.
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This most recent discussion of the law capped off a year in which the living wage trumped talk of all other local issues.
After an Oct. 19 SFR cover story,
revealed the College of Santa Fe bookstore-operated by national chain College Bookstores of America-was investigated for noncompliance with the law, the bookstore changed its policy.
***image2***In another instance, the Living Wage Network filed a complaint with the city alleging the Santa Fe Sage Inn brings in workers from the Inn of the Governors to sidestep the living wage. Hotel management and ownership have denied the charges [Outtakes, Dec. 7:
].
Assistant City Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco says the investigation into Sage is continuing; she expects a decision within the next 30 days.
"There are a lot of little nuances to this law, and it's a challenge figuring it out," she says. "We're trying to look at each case on an individual basis and see how the law applies."
Supporters and opponents of the living wage took their views to court on numerous occasions. On Nov. 29, the New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld the law, denying a challenge brought by opponents. Shortly thereafter, local business Heritage Home Health Care filed a federal lawsuit against the city over the law.
With March's municipal elections peeking over the horizon, politics continue to play a pivotal role in discussion of the issue. City Councilors Carol Robertson Lopez and Rebecca Wurzburger have questioned publicly whether it was wise to move forward with the law until the results of a city-mandated University of New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) study were in.
***image4***The initial portion of the study was finally released Dec. 12 to much fanfare. It shows employment has actually risen in Santa Fe each quarter since the wage law took effect, but 20 percent of businesses have reduced overall employment, 44 percent have cut overtime and 30 percent have cut back on part-time employment.
Predictably, both sides claim BBER's numbers support their arguments. New Mexico Voices For Children Research Director Gerry Bradley cites the study as evidence that the law is a good thing.
"There's been an improvement in living standards, the economy is doing well and low-wage workers are being helped. Not sure how you could get a better deal than that," Bradley, a former chief economist for the New Mexico Department of Labor, says.
Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce interim President Simon Brackley has a different take.
"I think this study provides good evidence to delay the implementation of the $9.50," Brackley says. "My sense is that the city needs to wait until the full report comes in. It needs to move very cautiously and be fiscally prudent before it moves ahead driven by ideology and emotion."
Ultimately, on Dec. 14, the Council overwhelmingly supported Bushee's pro-wage amendment, 7-1.
With one lawsuit already pending, the possibility of further legal action and a strong chance that the Legislature will examine a statewide wage hike which could pre-empt Santa Fe's own law, look for this issue to stay hot in 2006.
