Posted on 02/27/2013 11:48:56 AM PST by woofie
Folk heroes to some, villains to others, the owners of the Route 66 Malt Shop in Albuquerque have refused to abide by the city’s recently adopted minimum wage ordinance. The increase, they say, would bury their 18-year-old small business.
“We had the choice to close the business and destroy 18 years of blood, sweat and tears and hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years … and fire 12 people or disobey the law,” Eric Szeman told New Mexico Watchdog after a busy lunch-time rush.
“The law’s the law,” said Pat Davis, executive director of the liberal activist group Progress Now Mexico, which organized a protest in front of the malt shop earlier this week. “What they’re doing is wrong, and it amounts to stealing from their workers.”
“Pure and simple, it would double one-third of our payroll,” said Szeman, a 65-year-old Navy veteran who’s married to the restaurant’s owner, Diane Avila. “It would put us up to $5,000-$6,000 (in payroll) from $3,600 … anything over that, we’re out of business.”
(Excerpt) Read more at capitolreportnewmexico.com ...
I have known these folks a while...I went by to see them now that they are famous....
Im wondering if this story will go national
The city attorney getting involved? ...seems bizarre to me
Yea, there was a segment on 770 this AM about it. The “disgruntled” fired employee couldn’t find a free lawyer.
More:
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s2935132.shtml
http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2013/02/27/news/exwaiter-will-get-wage-help-from-city.html
We need government run malt shops now!
I would think they could have a case based on State or Federal pre-emption. If the state or feds say that minimum wage should be “x”, then I don’t see how a local town or city has a right to override what the state or Feds say the minimum wage should be. There are plenty of precedents established in other area of the law that allow the state gov or federal gov to override town and city laws!
Seize that business now give it to the employees!
How dare these silly Americans make a business and think they can suppress the mexican worker for just one dollar per hour!!
I hope they called the food stamp shop and told them about their new windfall! “After maybe and hopefully this head mexican will need a malt shop job in the near future! SARC /on!
But within the ordinance, there’s a provision calling for tipped employees to see their hourly minimum wages increase from $2.13 an hour to $3.83, an 80 percent raise, followed by raises in succeeding years based on the Consumer Price Index.
Waiters and waitresses often make more money than other employees.
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