Arizona bill would lower minimum wage

Story and photo by Conrad Pursley

After hours spent sweating at the grill, sweeping the floor and cleaning the bathroom at a local McDonald’s, Pima Community College student Crystal Hardiman returns home hoping she has enough money to pay for her car, insurance and school.

If a bill introduced by the state legislature passes, she may not have even that.

In February, a House panel passed a bill that would drop the minimum wage from $7.25 to $5.44 an hour for workers ages 22 and under.

The full legislature still needs to vote on the bill for it to become law.

The man behind the bill, Rep. Laurin Hendrix, R-Gilbert, believes it will boost business and increase employment for people ages 16-22, a demographic that makes up more than 29 percent of Arizona’s unemployed.

Many college students fear they would not be able to work enough hours to pay rent and attend classes.

“I don’t know what they’re thinking,” Hardiman said. “I really hope it doesn’t go down. It’s hard work and you don’t want to be paid less. You earn that money.”

Although Hardiman lives with her parents and uses a grant to attend PCC, her $7.25 an hour wages barely cover payments for her cell phone, car and gasoline. She doesn’t know how college students who are paid minimum wage could possibly live on their own.

If the bill goes through, Hardiman says she’ll have to make some tough decisions on what can stay and what has to go.

The AFL-CIO union opposes the bill, contending it will spark negative consequences. Once businesses can pay younger employees less, union officials say managers may be inclined to lay off older workers for cheaper, younger labor.

Lawmakers such as Rep. Chad Campbell, R-Phoenix, say they would not vote for the bill in its current form but are willing to negotiate for a younger age cutoff because most teens under the age of 18 are still under their parents’ care.

Opponents disagree with lowering the minimum wage at any age, saying there are families in that demographic who need all the help they can get.

Crystal Hardiman mops up at a local McDonald's.