After hearing from Durango’s business community in the spring, City Council heard from advocates for raising the minimum wage for workers within city limits.
The subject was brought to City Council’s attention by the community group Durango Forward, which coordinated with speakers who presented in Smith Council Chambers.
Among the speakers who presented at a study session last month was Barbara McLachlan, former state representative for House District 59, and Robin Kniech, a former Denver city councilor.
McLachlan co-sponsored Colorado House Bill 19-1210, a bill signed into law that allows municipalities to set their own minimum wages above the state minimum, which is currently $14.81 per hour for non-tipped employees and $11.79 per hour for tipped employees, such as waitstaff at restaurants.
“I see affordable housing, living close to work, buying locally and sustainable employment as extraordinarily important issues and something you have the power to address,” she told councilors.
She said increasing the minimum wage helps workers afford transportation to work and the ability to eat, shop and buy groceries. It would also help families afford child care and school supplies.
For small businesses, a higher minimum wage creates a sustainable increase in income and helps with hiring and retaining employees, she said.
“In 2019, Colorado saw the need for communities to keep pace with the rising cost of living and to support the greater community,” McLachlan said. “And now, six years later, the need is greater than ever. If we put more money into the pockets of local residents, they will spend here, live here and thrive here.”
She said the living wage is about $24 per hour for a single-person household in La Plata County.
“What if they want a family? A house? More than a bedroom? What if they want a life?” she said rhetorically. “Could you live on $14.81 an hour? Could you pay your mortgage or rent, buy your groceries and essential supplies? Go out to eat now and then? Have transportation or afford recreation making that much – $14.81? Probably not. I couldn’t.”
Kniech, who served three four-year terms on Denver City Council from 2011 through 2023, helped pass Denver’s minimum wage increase in 2019.
She said elected officials must contend with the housing crisis, noting the cost of living has outpaced wages for moderate-income families.
Denver experienced the loss of community members – priced out of their home city – who had lived there for generations, she said.
She compared the minimum wage debate to the climate change debate – some studies dismissed climate change as a phenomenon, chalking things up to normal weather cycles. But lived experiences in addition to the predominance of evidence through studies suggests climate change is real and that action is needed.
“There may be what we call dueling studies, but there is a preponderance of evidence on one side,” she said. “... The preponderance of the evidence is very clear that your economy will be OK, that there will be the same or a similar number of jobs in the sectors at the scale of your entire community.”
She said policymakers are tasked with making difficult decisions in the best interest of their communities at large, while mitigating unintended consequences that smaller segments of the community might face.
“One of the things that I think has been most impactful in the wage impacts we’ve seen here in Denver is just the ability of workers to get closer to that cost of living,” she said. “Maybe being able to get rid of that third job or maybe even the second job, and focus on one job.”
Sophie Mariam, Colorado Fiscal Institute economic and labor policy coordinator, said a common counterargument against minimum wage – that it is mostly teenagers and college students who benefit from higher wages – is a myth, and most minimum wage earners are adults supporting their families.
Women in Colorado are disproportionately affected by minimum wages, she said, in that they make up 67% of waitressing jobs, 70% of cashier positions and 90% of child care jobs, all of which are low-wage jobs.
She said raising the minimum wage does not significantly raise prices or harm employment at small businesses in communities like Durango.
Councilors heard six comments from residents at the Aug. 5 City Council meeting calling for a minimum-wage increase.
Fort Lewis College fourth-year student Dianna Montoya said she’s lived on the college campus since she started school, and she shared her observations of her classmates making their way through studies and work.
For a working college student who wants to be independent, living in Durango is rough. The city is beautiful, but the cost of living is high – she can’t imagine what it’s like for families of two or larger, she said.
In doing research for a college essay about homelessness, she said she interviewed four people who said they’ve often faced the choice between paying for food or housing.
Resident Beatriz Garcia spoke for two Spanish-speaking residents, Lisa Rogers and Anna, a woman who was only identified by her first name.
“Like many others, I felt the weight of Durango’s rising cost of living,” Garcia said, reading Rogers’ written statement. “As the sole provider of my family, every month is a careful balancing act; one income to cover the rent, groceries, school supplies and unexpected things life threw our way.”
She said she meets parents on a daily basis who work two or more jobs to keep their lights on and food on their tables, and it still isn’t enough.
She said essential but low-paid workers who stock grocery store shelves and care for the community’s children “deserve a life of dignity, not constant fear of falling behind.”
A higher minimum wage could mean the difference between surviving and thriving, she said, allowing single parents such as herself to save money for their children’s futures, emergencies and peace of mind.
cburney@durangoherald.com
