Almost all workers in Santa Fe will be paid a minimum wage of $9.50 per hour beginning in January, and they can expect pay increases based on the cost of living in future years, following Wednesday night's unanimous City Council vote to broaden its rules on the so-called "living wage."

The rules formerly required employers with 25 or more workers to pay the minimum wage, but the newly adopted amendments apply the highest minimum wage in the nation to employees of all businesses that require city business licenses starting in 2008.

The other major change to the ordinance ties future wage increases to inflation as calculated by the consumer price index. Beginning Jan. 1, 2009, and each year thereafter, the wage will be adjusted upward with council approval by an amount corresponding to the previous year's index increase, if any.

The index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for goods and services, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, which produces the data.
More than 70 people testified at Wednesday's hearing in favor of the amendments, with many urging councilors to ensure there will be no exceptions to the rules. Several speakers alluded to rumors that councilors planned to keep teenagers or high-school dropouts from earning the wage.

"No student is going to drop out for $9.50 an hour," said Cian Williams, a senior at Santa Fe High School. "An exemption of any kind condemns a citizen to the servitude of poverty."

While no city councilors asked for such an exception, Councilor Rebecca Wurzburger amended the rules to call for a study of whether the minimum wage contributes to an increase in the student dropout rate. The study also would address how the rules impact businesses with 10 or fewer employees.

Real-estate agent Dia Winograd said she favors the "living wage" because she can attest to a great disparity in resources, income and lifestyle in the community. "When we have people who live in huge homes only half the year, the least we can do is pay a living wage to those on the other end of the spectrum," she said.

Joe Cieszinski, who has run a religious bookstore in Santa Fe for about 20 years, was the lone voice at the hearing opposed to the changes. He said the new wage rules would reduce his income of $16,000 a year by about $10,000.

"Some of us will be damaged perhaps to the extent of going out of business," Cieszinski said. "It will be very hard for me and others to stay in existence if this passes. A job at $7 or $8.50 an hour is better than no job at $9.50 an hour."

A recent study by The University of New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research found the city's economy was performing well and the wage increases had not had significant impact.

Based on the Living Wage Ordinance first adopted in 2002, the minimum wage went from $8.50 an hour to $9.50 an hour at the beginning of this year and would have moved to $10.50 in January had the council not amended the rules.

The amendments represented a compromise with members of the business community who said the additional dollar increase would be arbitrary. While the current amendments had little opposition, the early passage of the rules was rife with infighting from the hotel and restaurant industries and other business leaders who took the city to court over the ordinance.

They lost the challenge in the state Court of Appeals, however, and began working with the mayor and the nonprofit Living Wage Network on a solution. Many who had been among the early opposition appeared at a press conference this summer touting the compromise and offering their support.

"The vibe in this room is a lot different than we have had in the past," said Councilor Matthew Ortiz, who along with other councilors thanked those no longer on the governing body who made the original ordinance happen.

Mayor David Coss said Wednesday's vote — which was greeted with a standing ovation, whistles and cheers from the audience — was the final chapter in a yearslong community struggle.

"In 100 years, historians and philosophers and poets are going to read the minutes from the living wage hearings and get a lot out of it," he said.

One group of laborers remains outside the wage rules, however. People who are working as interns for college credit are not entitled to the minimum wage under the ordinance. Councilor Patti Bushee tried to remove that exemption, but her motion died for lack of a second. She also said she would like to see Santa Fe County enact the same minimum wage as the city.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.