The minimum wage has risen three times in Albuquerque, New Mexico, since voters there approved a November 2012 ballot question. Still, that city’s hourly base pay of $8.75 has yet to reach what is considered living wage for a single person of $10.11 an hour.
The living wage is the minimum income necessary for an individual to earn to meet his or her basic needs.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports $10.11 an hour is the lowest wage at which subsistence needs can be met by a single person with no dependents in Albuquerque, while the living wage is $21.00 an hour for an adult with a child.
Urgent: Do You Think the Minimum Wage Should Be Raised?
The minimum wage is the lowest amount of compensation an employee must receive while performing a specific job. In November 2012, 66 percent of Albuquerque voters cast their ballots in favor of a question that raised the city’s minimum wage from $7.50 an hour to $8.50 an hour effective Jan. 1, 2013, while allowing for automatic increases each year based on
inflation, reported the Albuquerque Journal. That newspaper indicated the ballot question was supported by groups that included OLÉ (Organizers in the Land of Enchantment), a nonprofit organization seeking to help New Mexico’s workers win respect, living wages, benefits, and enforcement of worker protections.
Vote Now: How Do You Feel About the Minimum Wage?
Albuquerque’s minimum wage subsequently rose to $8.60 an hour on Jan. 1, 2014, and to $8.75 an hour on Jan. 1, 2015,
according to the city of Albuquerque. Employers who provide a certain level of health care benefits get a $1 break on that amount and must currently pay a minimum wage of $7.75 an hour.
Albuquerque’s municipal minimum wage is higher than the federal base pay, which is $7.25 an hour, and the minimum wage for New Mexico, which is $7.50 an hour,
according to the Department of Labor. An employee is entitled to whichever is highest among the applicable local, state, and federal minimum wage levels.
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