A few weeks ago, a coalition of community and labor organizations rallied at the Trident Cafe, demanding a higher minimum wage for Boulder workers. Dozens of us gathered to call on the Boulder City Council to raise the city’s minimum wage to from its current $14.42 per hour to $16.57 in 2025, and then up gradually until we reach $25 per hour by 2030. This would match Boulder County’s existing plan to increase the minimum wage in unincorporated areas.
I know firsthand the challenges of being a small business owner: For years, I owned two in downtown Boulder. The relentless hours, the enormous effort and the constant worry about making ends meet — it’s a tough gig. But what’s even tougher is watching your employees struggle to survive on wages that simply don’t cut it in today’s economy.
Get involved
Contact city council. Use this email form. Contact information for city council members are available on their individual pages: bouldercolorado.gov/government/city-council
Attend a meeting. City council will discuss minimum wage at its virtual Aug. 22 study session. Watch on YouTube or Channel 8.
Small business owners (and everyone else): Want to answer Susan’s questions? Have a different take on minimum wage? Send it to us: [email protected]
Denver started increasing its minimum wage in January 2020, and it now stands at $18.29 per hour. Contrary to the dire predictions, this hasn’t driven Denver’s small businesses into the ground — they have rebounded post-pandemic better than many other places.
I ask the small business owners of Boulder: Do you pay your employees less than $18 an hour? Do you support a more livable wage in Boulder? Why or why not? How do you feel when your corporate landlord, maybe Stephen Tebo or another billionaire, hikes up your rent again?
It’s not a livable wage that’s driving small businesses out of business — it’s the ever-increasing cost of leasing space. Commercial landlords like Tebo or the massive Unico grow richer, their properties appreciate, and they have little regard for the loyal tenants who have been paying them outrageous rent prices for years.
Opposing a livable wage means prioritizing the profits of billionaire real estate investors over the wellbeing of hardworking employees. It’s worth noting that the only employers clinging to minimum wage rates are the biggest and most profitable corporations. These giants — like Brookdale Senior Living with its $3.03 billion revenue — pay their executives millions while skimping on pay for frontline workers. They are the ones lobbying against minimum wage increases — not out of concern for mom-and-pop shops, but to ensure their own hefty profits.
It’s time that we join together to create a community where people can afford to live where they work. Let’s put an end to the daily commutes from far-off places like Commerce City or Brighton because folks can’t afford to live in Boulder.
It’s time for us to demand a minimum wage that reflects the true cost of living. Let’s commit to a future where every worker can thrive, not just survive. We owe it to ourselves, to our neighbors and to the future of Boulder.
Take action today by contacting your city council member to let them know that you support this minimum wage increase or attending the next meeting.
Susan Gibson has lived in Boulder for 34 years. She used to own The Boulder General Store and Indigo Designs downtown and currently volunteers in the community in multiple ways.
This opinion does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly
Read more opinions on Boulder’s minimum wage from Boulder city councilwoman Nicole Speer and current restaurateur Kevin Daly, of Mountain Sun Pubs