A scene from the LACDC and Los Alamos MainStreet forum on the proposed minimum wage increased held Monday night at projectY cowork Los Alamos. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

How to address the employment shortages and quality of life in Los Alamos may be more complicated than just raising the minimum wage, according to comments made during a forum held Monday night at projectY cowork Los Alamos.

Local business owners, organization leaders and members of the community attended the forum, which was hosted by Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce and Los Alamos MainStreet, to give their feedback on the proposed minimum wage increase.

A public hearing and possible action on an ordinance to raise minimum wage is scheduled for the Feb. 6 Los Alamos County Council meeting.

The ordinance proposes raising minimum wage to $15, $3.75 for tipped workers and $13.50 for students. This would go into effect July 1. Right now, minimum wage is $12 an hour.

The business community’s response to this proposed wage increase reveal it is a split issue, Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce Ryn Herrmann said. She noted in a survey the Chamber conducted in June to gage its members’ feelings on the issue, of the 80 respondents, 54.43 percent said they were in favor, 37.97 percent responded that they were not in favor and 8.86 percent said they were unsure.

“We get a lot of feedback for both sides,” Herrmann said. “We just thought it was important to get everybody together … ask questions, comment so County Council can hear your input.”

Council Chair Denise Derkacs reported on some of the feedback council has received. This includes a suggestion to stagger increases to minimum wage. For instance, raise the minimum wage from $12 to $13.50 the first year and then raise it from $13.50 to $15 in the following year. Another suggestion is to delay raising the minimum wage from July to January 2025. Still another recommendation is to do nothing at all.

“Some businesses told us that they are already paying employees above minimum wage and other business have indicated they may struggle to afford these increases,” she said.

Los Alamos Retired Senior Organization (LARSO) Executive Director Jacci Gruninger spoke about the challenges her organization would face if minimum wage was increased.

She said LARSO just tried raising salaries to $15 an hour for all employees but her concern is the senior organization doesn’t have a product or service to raise prices on to cover the cost of minimum wage increase. Also, it sends out the message that LARSO can only afford minimum wage so it would limit the quality of their workforce.

Los Alamos YMCA Executive Director Chris Daniels said he would support a tiered implementation “so we have time to adjust”.

“It has taken us several years to adjust to the state minimum wage as it has raised,” Daniels said. “And to some degree, yes higher wages are one component to attracting new people … also as a service organization we don’t have product we could easily mark to absorb the additional expense we are having in to incur.”

Carolyn Cowan, owner of Mesa Top Games and Toys and LA Bootery, spoke on how the minimum wage increase would impact her business.

She said she calculated that the minimum wage increase, for one employee, would require her to sell $1,600 more a month.

“It’s significant and it would be challenge for small business to keep the same margins they are keeping and accommodate that,” she said.

David Hand of Jona Manufacturing pointed out that minimum wage is an entry level wage, not a living wage. He said he feels this ordinance is forcing businesses to hire unskilled labor for $15 an hour.

“It precludes us from being able to bring a kid in and introduce them to the trade … which is viable alternative to college but if they don’t ever to get exposed to it, they don’t know about and it is hard to expose somebody when you have to pay them that much,” Hand said.

Los Alamos Family Council Executive Director Jordan Redmond pointed out it is tough to fill a high-skill position when there are lower skilled jobs that offer the same amount in pay.

It was posed by Los Alamos resident Sam McRae if the right question was being asked.

“This is a minimum wage not a living wage, but I think we would argue though that a living wage should be the minimum that people get paid for,” McRae said. “We obviously don’t want to make businesses suffer through this so what can we do from a county level in order to help businesses absorb this cost increase …”

Los Alamos Commerce Development Corporation (LACDC) Executive Director Lauren McDaniel expanded on that point, reporting that LACDC board members had wondered if the problem isn’t so much salaries but the cost of living in Los Alamos, mainly housing.

The LACDC board has discussed with raising minimum wage, “are we really solving anything … maybe we really need to double down on housing and try and make that as affordable as possible,” McDaniel said.

MainStreet Executive Director Jacquelyn Connolly emphasized housing is such a pressing issue.

“I will say it does seem from all the conversations I have been privy to is it almost always goes back to housing because it is such a major component of why we work,” she said.

It was stated during the meeting that even raising minimum wage to $15 hour would not cover the cost of rent at least one of the affordable housing apartment complexes in Los Alamos – The Bluffs.

County Planning Manager Sobia Sayeda said the Community Development Department is reviewing and updating its affordable housing program. She added the County is working with Mortgage Finance Authority to increase affordable housing projects.

Redmond said he felt more than one option may need to be pursued.

“I think we need to look at all of different pieces, what tweaks change the system and what is the most beneficial,” he said. “It might be a wage change; it might be another type of assistance to employees who reside in the County or a type of assistance for people who work here 30 hours or more. Are there other ways people can be aided … without hammering them in another way or hammering the organizations that are employing them, which effects the services they receive … I don’t want us to yank on one lone lever to fix the system because there are too many moving parts.”

The conversation does not end with the conclusion of the forum; the public is encouraged to email council at countycouncil@lacnm.us their thoughts and to attend the public hearing on Feb. 6.