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Debate in Portland over whether to raise the minimum wage in the city to $20 an hour is pitting the interests of local business owners who worry about rising expenses against workers who feel the cost of living is driving them away.
Portland City Council’s Housing and Economic Development Committee is considering whether a raise in the minimum wage should be a referendum question.
At a hearing Monday, business owners or representatives of trade associations and related groups said raising the wage will result in rising costs and vulnerability to an already volatile economy.
Danny Napolitano said he was born and raised in the city, and that his family owns a restaurant. He said he sympathizes with people struggling to make ends meet, but doubted a higher minimum wage would help.
“I don’t think $20 an hour is going to do it,” he said.
Restaurateur Steve DiMillo, who represented his restaurant, DiMillo’s on the Water, said raising the minimum wage will only force restaurateurs like him to pass the increase on in the form of higher menu prices. That, he said, will only drive customers away.
“There’s a limit to how much someone will pay for a cup of chowder and a beer,” he said.
Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce Advocacy Director Eamonn Dundon said raising the minimum wage would be a mistake because of uncertainty about cuts of federal funding to the city and speculation about a looming recession or inflation.
Dundon said the proposal would represent a 30% increase, which would impact employers at restaurants and small businesses, but also in health care and childcare.
“Now is not the time to increase their labor costs without any power at the local level to increase their state reimbursement rates,” he said. “To do so would place their critical services at risk.”
Speakers for the increase were either minimum-wage workers themselves or representing their interests.
Portland Tenants Union member Bradley Davis said he spoke on behalf of those who are “rent-burdened,” or paying more than 30% of their income per month on rent.
“People don’t need a bowl of chowder and a beer to survive,” he said. “Chowder and beer are not essential components sustaining our community. What people need is to be able to afford to live where they work.”
Portland resident Lilly Weaver said she works full-time but still makes less than $20 an hour. She is only able to live in the city, she said, because she is single and has no children.
“Given the housing market right now, and the rise in food prices, and just everything in general, at the current minimum wage, absolutely nothing is affordable,” she said.
Portland City Councilor Kate Sykes noted that the proposed increase would be spread out over three years, amounting to 9.7% a year, which she said was in line with inflation.
“Our focus here is solely on ensuring that workers who earn Portland’s minimum wage, that’s the base minimum wage, can afford to live here and work here with dignity,” she said.
The committee took no action following the hearing but will address the issue at a later time.
