Las Cruces minimum wage increase affects local employees

Las Cruces, NM- The first step of the Las Cruces minimum wage increase is in affect. With the pay increase, the lowest paid workers will get pay increases over the next four years.

On New Year’s Day businesses were required to start paying workers $8.40 an hour.
Our New Mexico Mobile Newsroom stopped by a local car wash Isabel Bojorquez says “I was surprised when I saw this morning that everything had gone up, we need to wash and we need to do what we need to do”.

We spoke with a woman named Guadalupe who says “I don’t mind paying a little bit more if it means employees are going to get paid a little bit more”.

Steven works at the car wash and has a different approach about the pay hike “As far as everything else going up it might not help me be able to afford my bills in the long run”

Martinez says “as long as the minimum wage goes up nothing else is going to change if the cost of living goes up, i would rather it just stayed the same”

Las Cruces City Council will review the effects of its minimum wage increase this summer.