Because the cost of living isn’t going down, a group of Durango residents is asking for the minimum wage to go up.
Durango Forward, a movement launched by civic engagement nonprofit New Era Colorado, approached Durango City Council in January with two requests: 1) increase the minimum wage in Durango by 15% to $17.03 as allowed by state law; and 2) hold a study session where the idea can be examined in detail.
The group was successful in convincing City Council to hold a study session about raising the minimum wage. That is scheduled for sometime in May. But Durango Forward may still have its work cut out for it.
In an interview with The Durango Herald, Councilors Dave Woodruff and Gilda Yazzie were skeptical of raising the minimum wage.
Yazzie said she needs more information about the economic impact and wants to know how the community feels about a minimum-wage increase before she makes a decision either way. Workforce housing remains her top priority.
Woodruff said he’s worried raising the minimum wage would squeeze small businesses that already operate on thin margins. But he also said after a cursory search it appears as if many businesses are already paying around $17 hourly.
He concluded that because many businesses are already paying around $17 per hour, mandating a higher minimum wage isn’t necessary.
Councilor Olivier Bosmans proposed a study session about raising the minimum wage and an ordinance to raise it earlier this month. Woodruff voted to have the study session, but not to bring up the ordinance at that time.
Proponents for a mandated minimum wage increase argue it is justified.
Dave Albrechta, an employment attorney in Durango, said many businesses already offering minimum wages around $17 per hour makes mandating that minimum the obvious decision.
“If you pay workers more, they have more money to spend,” he said. “So they can go to Carver’s or they can go out for dinner. That’s what’s missing. That’s why you can’t live here.”
He said it’s just not possible to live stably in Durango on an hourly wage of $14.81, the state minimum wage. One might get by if he or she finds roommates, doesn’t go out, doesn't own a car and limits his or her expenses.
One also might have an easier time if he or she chooses to live in a less expensive community. But the city of Durango should be concerned about keeping those residents and their spending money in Durango, he said.
Albrechta and other advocates of raising the minimum wage said bigger paychecks for workers benefit businesses, contrary to the fear a minimum-wage increase would smother them in increased labor costs. He said paying $14.81 per hour might get workers in the door, but those workers aren’t going to stay in such a low-paying job for long, and the attrition from turnover and retraining is more expensive to a business in the long run.
Colorado Fiscal Institute’s Sophie Mariam, a labor policy analyst, spoke to the benefits of an increased minimum wage at City Council last month at Durango Forward’s invitation.
She said in an interview an increased minimum wage in a small city like Durango would potentially stimulate the local economy, increase economic development in low-wage areas and generally contribute to long-term community prosperity by lifting people out of poverty.
Increased minimum wages have been shown to reduce crime, improve infant health and reduce child abuse and teenage pregnancy, in addition to putting more money in workers’ pockets and helping employers retain productive employees, she said.
A common prevailing argument against raising the minimum wage, according to a 2022 University of California, Berkeley study about the subject, is minimum wages would force businesses to pay higher wages than market rates, leading to job losses and ultimately bankruptcies and closures.
“The reasoning went: Minimum wage increases raise the cost of labor, employers hire fewer low-wage workers, and ultimately the policy hurts those it intended to help,” the study said.
Mariam, referencing the study (“Turnover, Prices, and Reallocation: Why Minimum Wages Raise the Incomes of Low-Wage Workers”), said generally, local and small minimum wage increases did not lead to job losses at small businesses.
The study did not ignore potential downsides to businesses. It said some businesses might fall out if minimum wages are raised. But it said employers still have labor market power when wages are regulated, be it by union or government mandate.
Three Durango residents spoke in front of City Council on Wednesday to again advocate for a minimum-wage increase.
Durango resident Jeff Dunn, a carpenter who has one business partner and two salaried employees, said jobs that don’t pay close to livable wages is a problem for Durango.
He said the increase in the cost of living in Durango has “dramatically outpaced the increase in wages,” and little of the accumulated wealth in the city has been realized by workers who make Durango what it is.
“While home prices and rents increased upward of 70% over the last five years, the state minimum wage has increased a mere 33%. Fortunately, Durango has the authority to raise our minimum wage to something that more accurately reflects the needs of the local workforce.”
Dunn outlined two counterarguments to a minimum-wage increase: that not all jobs are meant to provide living wages and that raising the minimum wage would cause businesses to raise costs, negating spending power.
“I would argue a business that does not provide a living wage is not actually a business,” he said. “But rather, a pyramid scheme. Its success relies on employees who earn less than a living wage. That business model needs to be reevaluated.”
He said inflation and wages have not increased in kind, and it’s hard to believe employers’ wages cannot keep up with rising costs.
“The default measure of success of a company is how much money the owner or owners are able to make for themselves. But it’s time we start measuring success by how financially secure every member of a company is,” he said. “If Durango truly wants to maintain so many of the things we claim make it such a wonderful place to live, it’s imperative we take care of our workforce and ensure they have a reasonable opportunity to live where they work.”
Durango resident Annalise Lasater said at the City Council meeting on Wednesday the number of households reliant on youths workers’ incomes is rising, and their subjection to lower wages puts them at a disadvantage compared to youths from wealthier households.
“Many youths in these jobs are already facing difficult choices between saving for postsecondary high school education, whether that is a trade or a college, or helping make ends meet for their families,” she said. “If you create wage exemptions for young people, that also sets a dangerous precedent in a race to the bottom because they’re having to choose between working conditions and contributing to their families versus more privileged teens that can just spend their time studying and focusing on college prep.”
Durango Joes owner Joe Lloyd said the proposed $17.03 minimum makes him sweat.
He said he understands how hard it is for people to make a living in Durango – his workforce of 175 people largely consists of college kids trying to make their way – but prices are hard on businesses, particularly restaurants. His workers earn between $18 and $20 per hour, tips included.
He said he’s skeptical of the argument that an increased minimum wage would give workers more money to spend around town. Those workers are spending their money on essentials like groceries, not coffee shops.
“I have employees who live in vans right now, who can’t afford, you know, $1,900 a month for an apartment,” he said. “It’s really sad, but I don’t think that type of increase is going to cause the people that go to restaurants often ... you’re not going to see this huge increase in spending in the areas that really need the money.”
He said his customers are those working people who are struggling in Durango’s economy – teachers, nurses, police officers, bank tellers and construction workers – blue collar workers, he said.
“In the food industry right now, in the restaurant industry ... everything has gone up so much, it’s hard to keep things at affordable prices, and just have things continue to go up and up, and have people not come anymore because it’s too expensive,” he said.
He said there’s a delicate balance between what’s fair and what’s right for wages and prices of goods and service. And he understands why people want to be paid more, he said.
Albrechta said one of the great hypocrisies of American society is that people “gush over democratic principles and ideals,” but that’s not reflected in the organization of labor or the workforce.
He said working life is not spent in a democracy, but a dictatorship: Employers can fire people at will. His career is built on defending people when their employers don’t treat them fairly, often when it comes to wages.
Government regulations are what prevent companies from taking advantage of people, he said.
“Government has to step in and say, ‘Hey, you can’t do that,’ for whatever it is, the work day, hours, conditions, all of those laws that I’ve spent my career enforcing,” he said.
There’s a stigma against discussing wages at work, even though that’s a completely legally protected practice, he said. But he also stressed the minimum wage movement isn’t aimed against businesses. Most businesses treat and pay their workers well, and a minimum-wage increase would raise the floor.
He said government steps in when workplaces create bad working conditions for people. And while a living wage, which according to Region 9 is $24.89 per hour for a household of two adults with a preschooler and a grade school-aged child, is the ideal goal, a minimum wage of $17.03 communitywide is at least achievable.
cburney@durangoherald.com
