New Mexico: Raise the Wage

marjorie says...

We're getting another chance to raise the minimum wage, this time at the state level. I urge you all to call your state representatives ASAP and let them know that you support Raising the Wage. Here is a newsletter article from New Mexico Voices for Children about this effort:

Raise New Mexico’s Minimum Wage to $7.50 – Expand Opportunity to All New Mexicans

New Mexico’s sagging wage floor needs to be fixed. Fourteen states, and the District of Columbia have already raised their state minimum wage, to establish a wage floor above the federal minimum wage of $5.15. 82% of Americans believe the federal minimum wage should be raised, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center.

We have an opportunity in the 2006 legislative session in New Mexico to take a very meaningful step towards expanding economic opportunity to all New Mexicans. New Mexico Voices for Children has joined a broad, statewide coalition, New Mexicans For A Fair Wage, calling for an increase in the state minimum wage to $7.50, indexed to inflation so that it increases as the cost of living does, with no preemption of local wage ordinances, such as Santa Fe’s.

What better way to create a family and business friendly environment than to fix our poverty wage floor?

Because our minimum wage is still so low, we need to take a significant step to make a difference to expand opportunity in our state. $7.50 is a significant step forward.

Fourteen other states and the District of Columbia have increased their minimum wage. What’s happened? Have economies crumbled? Are low-income workers worse off? No.

Increasing the minimum wage has not slowed job growth in any state.

Let’s look at what happened in Santa Fe when the minimum wage was increased to $8.50. Job growth in Santa Fe’s hotel, restaurant and ‘hospitality industry’ has actually accelerated above job growth in other industries in Santa Fe. And the people receiving Santa Fe’s new minimum wage of $8.50 are mostly concentrated in the hospitality industry. So, not only is business not harmed by an increase in the minimum wage, it seems to be helped.

123,000 working New Mexicans and their children would directly benefit from a wage increase to $7.50 per hour. The extra money for medicine, food, school supplies, gasoline, home heating costs and other essentials will mean the difference between deprivation and basic care for our families. The equation is simple. When the minimum wage goes up, poverty goes down.

The vast majority (about 80%) of the people who will benefit from an increase in New Mexico’s minimum wage are adults working full time, supporting a family. Nobody who works full-time should live in poverty.

If the path to the American dream is hard work, then we must make hard work pay. The choice is ours. Call your legislator today and tell him or her to vote yes to make work pay. Join New Mexicans For A Fair Wage by calling Lyn Wilson-King at 244-9505x16.