The Las Cruces City Council is scheduled to discuss changes to the new minimum wage law on Monday.
One proposal being discussed is a yearly review of whether phased increases in the minimum wage will take place. The wage is scheduled to rise to $8.40 in January, $9.20 in 2016, and $10.10 in 2017. Critics say it would be difficult to judge the effect of wage increases on the overall economy, because there are so many factors to consider. And as councilor Olga Pedroza told KRWG, some of those influences aren’t even local in nature, because we’re in a global economy. It’s an easy time to remind people about that…since lower gas prices, strongly influenced by global factors…are giving consumers more money to spend on other things.
Councilors Pedroza, Nathan Small, and Gill Sorg all voted against the minimum wage increase, saying the ordinance should have been on the ballot for voters to decide. Now the three councilors are the target of a recall election campaign by the group New Mexicans for a Better Tomorrow. Campaign manager Jeffrey Isbell told KRWG the minimum wage issue is already sacrificing jobs. He notes employers who want to pay less can move to El Paso, where the federal minimum wage of $7.25 is used.
Isbell isn’t the only person to mention El Paso as an alternative for Las Cruces employers looking to avoid paying higher wages. But depending on the job, that might not be so easy. While wages vary, this week, the El Paso Times reported DISH network had 150 jobs open at its East El Paso call center. The company website says those jobs have a $10/hour starting salary with “significant bonus potential”, 401(k) with company matched funds, tuition reimbursement, complimentary DISH Programming, medical, dental & vision insurance and paid vacation & sick time. Moreover, high skill jobs also sometimes pay more in El Paso. For instance, starting teachers make 34 thousand dollars a year in Las Cruces Public Schools while the El Paso Independent School District starts its teachers at 44 thousand, ten thousand more and no state income tax for employees who live in Texas.
But currently, some economic development officials use low labor costs as a way to promote Las Cruces to employers. On its website under business costs, the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance says: “Labor costs in Las Cruces are well below national averages. Median wage rates for skilled production workers are 18% lower than the national average. Administrative support median wages are approximately 20% lower than the national average.”
It’s another reminder that the minimum wage discussion in Las Cruces is part of a larger economic picture and one that may have much larger implications.