Nathan Martinez loves his dog, his community, his job and his independence. At Sam’s Club, Martinez hustles to retrieve shopping carts for customers and greets them with a carefree smile. However, his sunny outlook turns to worry when he considers that the life he has earned and established could change.
Martinez fears that the non-profit organization that has helped him acquire job skills and employment, and continues to coach him in life and work, will go away. Representatives from LOU Corp., which provides support and services to Flagstaff citizens with developmental disabilities, are among the growing population of locals imploring elected officials to do something to prevent the impending local minimum wage increase from causing an economic breakdown.
“I don’t want to have to leave Flagstaff,” said Martinez, who fears his support system will not be able to operate here under the new minimum wage requirements. “This is my home.”
Proposition 414 is the magnetic force that is pulling the community apart. Supporters say the spirit of the initiative is to provide a livable, minimum wage to workers in one of Arizona’s most expensive communities. Opponents call it a “huge catastrophe” with the power to close shops, avert businesses from relocating to Flagstaff and force prices up for most everything from rent to tacos.
Northern Arizona University economist Nancy Baca told the Flagstaff City Council that 414 will hurt Flagstaff’s most vulnerable, “those who are unemployed to begin with, those on fixed incomes, those with disabilities,” she explained.
Business owners like Minesh Patel maintain that the town simply cannot afford the new local wage hike and the voter-approved law that sets minimum wage $2 an hour above everywhere else in the state, starting in July with $12 an hour and continuing to rise to $15 by 2021.
“We’re divided,” he said. “This should never have happened. Why would we divide our own community?”
Russell Goddard, executive director for The Peaks, a Flagstaff senior living and health care facility, says the wage hike will negatively impact services for the elderly.
Restaurateur John Connolly wants the community to hit the pause button. He says he and other voters did not consider the impact of a one-two punch from an increased state minimum wage from Proposition 2016 that took effect in January and the local initiative. “I consider myself an educated voter, but I was duped.”
Others, like Flagstaff Soap Company Manager Bobbi Wilson disagree. She says the company has had good success by paying part-time employees above minimum wage. “This has resulted in a high level of employee satisfaction, and low turnover. Most employees have stayed for over a year. All of these happy and experienced employees are more valuable to the business than newly hired or underpaid staff. They work harder because they are invested in the job, make fewer costly mistakes, they’re better at answering customers questions and giving honest recommendations about our products, and they have good things to say about the company to family and friends, which helps bring in new customers over time. These things may be difficult to quantify, but they have certainly had a positive impact on the business.”
Flagstaff City Council members spent their Valentine’s evening listening to hours of testimony, at times emotional, on both sides of the issue before voting against a special election in May, which would essential ask community members if they really meant what they said when they approved the proposition in November, especially with a better understanding of the impact from both state and local initiatives.
Instead, the Council directed the city attorney to draft an amendment to 414 that would uphold the law and allow for a change in the timeline.
“I do believe going from $8 to $12 [an hour] in six months would cause a hardship for many of our small businesses in Flagstaff,” said Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans, who points out that citizens put Prop 414 on the ballot, not the City Council. “If you look at the language of Proposition 414, the intent is to go to $15 an hour in five years to give businesses an opportunity to adjust to the increasing minimum wage. Regardless of how you feel about the issue, I think that the majority of people would favor slowing down the timeline for the local minimum wage increases, given the fact that both propositions have passed.”
Meanwhile, Elevate Flagstaff, a group of local business owners and residents who petitioned for the special election, is not standing down. “Elevate Flagstaff is moving forward with every option available to help mitigate the adverse impacts of 414, but it won’t involve a lawsuit,” said Rob Wilson, a supporter of the effort to repeal the proposition. “We are continuing to reach out to the community for additional input. Individuals like servers, [tipped employees], who will be impacted significantly, were left out of the discussions.”
Elevate Flagstaff has submitted a formal position on Proposition 414 to the City of Flagstaff, identifying solutions “that would be beneficial in supporting our community as a whole,” it states. The position paper also says the group does not believe the Flagstaff City Council has the legal authority to amend the proposition.
“The most common concern is the compounding effects of 414/206,” states the document. Thus, Elevate Flagstaff suggests a timeline that begins next January with $0.50 annual jumps. Elevate Flagstaff’s proposed local minimum wage would go to $10.50 in 2018, reaching $12.50 in 2022.
The statement also calls the “Plus $2” provision – requiring Flagstaff employers to pay workers $2 above the state minimum wage – “an arbitrary number that does not accurately reflect research done locally for application in Flagstaff.”
Further, Elevate Flagstaff says the idea of a $15 an hour minimum wage goal is also an arbitrary number. “We want to see a number that works for Flagstaff,” said Wilson.
The group also recommends capping the minimum wage to plus or minus 3 percent annually.
“Runaway inflation is a real possibility as a result of 414,” said Wilson. “The future sustainability of Flagstaff’s economy is at risk.” FBN
By Bonnie Stevens, FBN
