LAS CRUCES, N.M. – In Monday’s Las Cruces City Council meeting, a first reading of Council Bill No.15-022, Ordinance No. 2741, An Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 2726 Which Created “The Las Cruces Minimum Wage” Ordinance... will be heard. Also on the agenda is Council Bill No. 15-021, Ordinance No. 2740, An Ordinance Repealing Ordinance No. 2715, the Las Cruces Minimum Wage, which is the ordinance that raised the wage in Las Cruces to $8.50. There is no public discussion allowed. Ordinance No. 2740 to repeal the old minimum wage law is not controversial and has been agreed to by the Mayor and majority of City Council at their work session held October 27th. However Ordinance 2741 outlining amendments to the current law will surely spark another heated debate between the Mayor and councilors. A vote on both proposed ordinances is scheduled for December 1st.
In the work session, the Mayor proposed that the current law be amended to include “commonly used exemptions contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)” and directed Councilors Miguel Silva, Ceil Levatino, and Nathan Small to draft the ordinance to amend. Mayor Ken Miyagishima also went on record stating that he was not comfortable with the 2nd and 3rd phases of the new law to ultimately raise the wage to $10.10 by 2017 and recommended that after the law takes effect on January 1, 2015, that it be evaluated on its impact to the community in 6 months.
“The FLSA exemptions are complex, at best, and should be fully defined, clarified, and understood in the proposed amendments before moving forward with a vote,” explained Sara Berger, CAFé’s attorney. “The other option, of course, is to let the current law stand as voted for by the Mayor and City Council.”
Amendments as written in Ordinance No. 2741 include exemptions for “employers whose businesses gross under $500,000 per year” and also includes “Motion picture theaters” amongst other exemptions listed.
In a recent economic forum hosted by KRWG on NMSU Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 12th, CAFé’s Executive Director Sarah Nolan responded to the proposed amendments, “Employers that gross less than $500,00 a year, that’s more than half of all businesses in Las Cruces. They’re creating loopholes that you can drive a Mack truck through. [Exemptions] from paying the city’s current minimum wage that will go into effect January 1st that are beyond the Fair Labor Standards Act are, one is workers with disabilities that are certified by the State - that’s Tresco. Who is the COO of Tresco? It’s Richard Aguilar, who is the head of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Let’s look at another exemption - Motion Picture Theaters - that’s Allen Theaters. They want to exempt motion picture theaters from the current minimum wage.”
Angelica Rubio, Campaign Manager, added, “Why are they proposing amendments now? If the law was unacceptable to them as written and signed by over 6,000 Las Cruces voters, then why did they vote for it on September 8th? Councilor Smith says he voted for it so that the council could have time to amend it, which would then give the business community time to prepare for it. However I disagree. The business community has had an entire year to prepare for an increase. We are coming up to the one year anniversary on December 5, 2013 when CAFé first announced its historic ballot initiative.”
Ms. Nolan further explained, “The other red flag that should concern everyone in our community is that the ballot initiative process as outlined in the City’s charter is seriously flawed. The ballot initiative is a democratic tool that is intended to enhance civic participation and representative government. Citizens have a right to petition their government. In the poorest, second largest city where poverty is a barrier to economic growth, our city government turned people away from participating in the process by rejecting their vote. Moreover, raising the minimum wage is a people’s issue and the people should have had the right to vote - including the business community - for or against a law that will directly impact their future. Tens of thousands of votes for raising the minimum wage to $10.10 in 2017 would have given the law a layer of protection that it currently does not have. CAFé’s faith community will continue to work to not only preserve the new $10.10 law, but we will also remain true to our mission to strengthen civic participation and democracy in Southern New Mexico.”
WHO: City Council
WHAT: City council meeting, Ordinances to repeal June 2nd law to $8.50 and to amend current $10.10 minimum wage law
WHEN: Monday, November 17th, 1:00 pm
WHERE: Las Cruces City Hall, 700 N. Main Street, Council Chambers
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Background information:
In a recent e-mail exchange with a CAFé community leader, the Mayor confirmed that Russell Allen, Owner of Allen Theaters, raised his prices in anticipation of the minimum wage law going into effect in January. It is not known whether Russell Allen raised his ticket prices knowing that Allen Theaters could possibly be exempt from the current law. In the Great Conversations in April of this year, Russell Allen boasted about being in business for “over 100 years”, which is demonstrated by their history timeline on the Allen Theater website. The website also confirms that ticket prices were recently raised from $8.50 for an adult ticket to $9.00. Allen Theaters is the only motion picture theater operating in Las Cruces.
Information about KRWG’s documentary, “Issue & Answers: The Minimum Wage” can be found here. The forum was moderated by Fred Martino, KRWG Director of Content, and panelists included CAFé’s Executive Director, Sarah Nolan, and LC Mayor Pro Tem Greg Smith. The forum was open to the public and taped in front of a live audience. Individuals in the audience participated in a Question & Answer session with the panelists.