Durango City Council has heard from representatives of the business community about the possible impacts of raising the required minimum wage. Now, it is turning to workers and worker advocates for another perspective.
Councilor Kip Koso requested a study session with Durango Forward, a group that placed the subject of raising the minimum wage on the city’s radar.
“I just wanted to make sure that we had a full perspective on the concept of a minimum wage,” he told other councilors. “We had a study session presentation that was pretty oriented toward the business community – important to hear from them, for sure. But it did seem light on the opposite viewpoints.”
Koso said he met with Durango Forward members prior to the meeting. He asked that they and other potential presenters be given similar time as representatives of the Region 9 Economic Development District, Fort Lewis College, the Durango Chamber of Commerce and the Durango Business Improvement District, all of which presented to City Council during a study session earlier this month.
Koso said the follow-up discussion would balance out time given to opponents and supporters of raising the minimum wage.
He received support from other councilors.
“It’s an issue that’s of great concern to our community, so I welcome the opportunity to continue the discussions,” Councilor Shirley Gonzales said.
Durango Forward sent a letter to councilors dated May 19 requesting a study session. The letter named Annalise Lasater; Aaron Hackett; Dave Albrechta; Enrique Orozco of Compañeros; Jeff Dunn; Karen Pontius and Lindsay Fallon of Towards Justice as senders, some of whom sounded off on the initial proposal for City Council to consider a minimum-wage increase.
The letter thanked councilors for taking the issue seriously and expressed concern about the previous study session with business advocates.
“The session was specifically limited to exploring impacts on the business community. While we agree it’s important to understand those impacts, we are concerned that the presentation was largely shaped by business advocacy organizations like the Chamber of Commerce – a national organization that has consistently opposed raising the minimum wage in any community,” the letter said.
It said the Chamber of Commerce only reflects a small part of the business community, and a survey conducted by the city and the chamber only targeted chamber members.
“Additionally, much of the presentation relied heavily on anecdotes and opinion, rather than balanced analysis,” the letter said.
Durango Forward members said they can conduct their own survey of workers to present findings to City Council, and listed a number of experts who could present at the upcoming study session, which is tentatively planned for July. The experts named are:
- Colorado Fiscal Institute’s Labor Policy Analyst Sophie Mariam.
- Denver Labor’s Executive Director Matt Fritz-Mauer.
- Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s Division of Labor Standards and Statistics Director Scott Moss.
- Former Denver City Councilor Robin Kniech.
- Towards Justice Policy Director Nina DiSalvo.
- Colorado Center for Law & Policy’s Income & Housing Policy Director Charlie Brennan.
Durango Forward first proposed a minimum-wage increase of 15% – the maximum allowable under state law – to $17.03 in January. Advocates said an increase would fuel economic growth by putting more money in workers’ pockets.
Those discouraging a minimum-wage increase said such a policy could cause businesses to increase prices, hire fewer or less-skilled workers, and scale back services.
At the study session where business advocates discussed potential impacts to businesses and employment, Koso said he’s not excited about the idea of raising the minimum wage because other, finer policies and actions could be more helpful to workers struggling with the cost of living in Durango.
He also said he wants to understand workers’ point of view.
cburney@durangoherald.com
