Political battle heats up over efforts to raise Albuquerque's minimum wage

From KOB-TV.com - By: Stuart Dyson - A political battle is heating up over efforts to raise Albuquerque's minimum wage by a dollar an hour. The city clerk has 10 days to check over more than 25,000 petition signatures to see whether enough city voters can force the city council to vote on the issue, or put it on the ballot for an election. Right now the city's minimum wage is $7.50 an hour. It would climb to $8.50 if petition signers get their way, with cost of living increases every year. Business groups are ready for a fight. "It's a political battle, that's for sure," said Chamber of Commerce president Terri Cole. "It does look like they might have the signatures, so we're ready for the battle and we'll win this one." "Most people think that the minimum wage is for high school students," said Rebecca Glenn, an activist working for the increase. " Really there are people with families and people in their thirties and people in their forties. There's a lot of other people making minimum wage and it's not a living wage." "Passing an increase in minimum wage will just flat out make Albuquerque more uncompetitive," Cole said. "The only way businesses could possibly deal with this would be to increase prices, cut benefits, and cut jobs." Read more

Political battle heats up over efforts to raise Albuquerque's minimum wage