Gutted Minimum Wage Bill Passed by Senate

SB 449, the much-amended minimum wage bill passed last night in the NM Senate, is really an anti-fair wage bill. Instead of $7.50 an hour, it mandates a raise to only $6 in January 2007. Later, the minimum would go to $6.75, but only for those with at least a year on the job. Later still, it would be raised to $7.50, but only for workers with at least two years on the job. In other words, employers are encouraged to get rid of workers with experience so they won't have to pay the increased minimum. Terrific.

In addition, employers in the chile and dairy businesses, as well as food processors, would be exempt. Cities and towns would be permanently banned from passing laws for a higher minimum wage. Sante Fe's minimum wage rate would be capped permanently at $9.50. This is progress? Thankfully Governor Richardson doesn't think so, and he's threatened to veto the bill if it makes it to his desk as is. An Albuquerque Journal article reports:

Richardson spent hours Tuesday counting noses, meeting with state senators and twisting arms trying to salvage the higher minimum wage proposal he has championed.

The mangled bill goes next to the House. As you may recall, the House already passed an excellent minimum wage bill, sponsored by House Speaker Ben Lujan. That bill is languishing in committee in the Senate and probably will never be resusitated. It will be up to the House to try and reinstate sensibility into this bill. Unless that's possible, I hope every Democrat in the House votes AGAINST this bill.

Who's to blame for this mess? Much of it falls on the shoulders of these three Democrats:

Mary Kay Papen (D-Las Cruces)

James Arthur Smith (D-Deming)

Tim Jennings (D-Roswell)

As the Journal reports:

On the Senate floor Tuesday night, Altamirano tried to amend the committee's version of his bill so that it contained the governor's wage increase proposal. But three border-district Democrats— Tim Jennings of Roswell, Mary Kay Papen of Las Cruces and Smith— joined 18 Republicans to retain the committee language to which Richardson had objected.

Despite the fact that employers that are big dollar campaign donors to these three were exempted completely from having to pay the higher wage, the three musketeers also supported the ridiculous provisions stipulating time on the job as a requirement for workers to earn the new minimum. Oh, how I wish these Dems in Name Only could work for $6.00 an hour and be forced to live on it.

Another excerpt from the Albuquerque Journal article:

Senators from districts bordering Mexico and Texas had earlier amended Altamirano's bill in the Senate Finance Committee, saying businesses in their districts, especially food processing companies, could not afford to pay $7.50 an hour to their unskilled workers. They warned businesses would leave the state, lay off workers, cut benefits or cut new hiring if forced to pay too high a wage.

"We want to preserve the real jobs we have," said Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming. "We also want our folks to have a living wage."

Uh, Senator Smith, even $7.50 an hour isn't a "living wage," as anyone who tries to live on that paltry amount can attest. And why not support the raise to $7.50 since the chile, dairy and food processing companies were exempted in the bill thanks to your work?  We know why. To my mind it's because he's in bed with his big donors and he could care less that people have to try to live on $6.00 an hour.

Remember when THE CORE VALUE of the Democratic Party was making sure working people got a fair deal? Apparently that value has died, at least in the case of these three apologists for "business interests." Apparently this trio is dedicated to keeping wages so low that the only realistic recourse for many is to become a burglar or drug dealer. After all, crime is one way to make a living wage, isn't it? Then we can all pay for this travesty as more and more of our tax dollars go to prisons. I guess some people just can't see the forest for the trees, especially when they're pocketing campaign money from powerful economic interests.