Felipe is not that lucky. Living in a small town that borders New Hampshire, he gets up at 7 am every Saturday to catch a van that takes him to Manchester. The 18-year-old will then work at a food stand in the Southern   New Hampshire University Arena for 10 hours, and head back home in the midnight with $100 in hand.

Both Vanessa and Felipe are looking forward to a higher minimum wage being implemented in New Hampshire. The current rate of $7.25 an hour is the lowest in New England but the cost of living is among the highest in the nation.    These teens are not  alone.

In May 2019, a survey  by Public Policy Polling showed that more than 60% of New Hampshire residents strongly supported raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2022. It would affect more than 150,000 employees who make up 24% of New Hampshire’s labor force, according to a research by the Economic Policy Institute.

 The Democratic Presidential candidates want to push it further. They  want to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.  Of the seven candidates who qualified for the February debates in the 2020 election cycle, five support a federal minimum wage of $15, including Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders, the two forerunners in the Iowa caucus. A $15 minimum wage would benefit even more New Hampshire workers – some  225,000 people in New Hampshire, representing 36% of the state’s labor force, according to a report by the National Employment Project.

Calls to double the minimum wage in New Hampshire have garnered  tremendous support from local unions. SEA/SEIU Local 1984, a New Hampshire branch of the Service Employees International Union, announced on January 12 that it would endorse Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination. The endorsement decision distanced the local branch from its national affiliate, which has so far remained neutral in the presidential race.

Yet economists do not think minimum wage alone would do much to New Hampshire’s economy, which already has one of the lowest poverty rates in the nation. A classical economic theory suggests that a higher minimum wage could lead to a higher unemployment rate as companies lay off workers when they cannot afford to pay higher wages,  according to Guido Menzio, professor of labor economics at New York University.

The theory does seem to be on display in New Hampshire where the state’s $7.25 minimum wage law is accompanied by a 2.6% unemployment rate, the third-lowest in the nation.

Menzio also points out that an increase in the minimum wage might improve the efficiency of the economy by weeding out unproductive employers. But, he said, it does not necessarily improve workers’ living conditions.

“Workers may be paid $15 rather than $10 an hour but required to have their own transportation, work longer effective hours, or work more intense hours,” said Menzio.

C.J., who used to work as a pastry chef in New Hampshire for 20 years, agreed with Menzio on the point that a simple increase in wage did not make his life easier. “I used to live on minimum wage for years,” said C.J. who spoke anonymously because he did not want to be seen being critical of his employer.  “when I got promoted to the management level, I started working 60, 70, or even 80 hours per week. If you divide the pay by the hours I work, I was paid even less than the minimum wage.”

What C.J. really likes about his  current job is that his employer provides him with a solid benefit package. “Now I have insurance, and can take a paid-leave — these are more important factors than a simple rise in wage,” said C.J.

Ethan, a first-year student at Manchester Community College who works 1o hours at an  ice-cream stand and 20 hours as a construction worker, says he gets paid $300 per week and needs more money. “But I don’t think $15 would do much to my life,” said Ethan, “I think the inflation will ultimately offset such little increase in my hourly wage.”

Karen Conway, economist at the University of New Hampshire, is a strong opponent of a $15 minimum wage for the state. “The cost of living varies dramatically across the country and even within New Hampshire,” said Conway. “The northern part of the state is more rural and hence has more small firms, which are more likely to lay off people if the minimum wage rises.”

Jacob Vigdor, an expert on minimum wage who teaches at the University of Washington, thinks the effect of a rise of minimum wage on unemployment depends on the economy’s condition. “If the minimum wage is raised rapidly in the middle of a recession, employers may face greater difficulty in making payroll. If the wage is phased in slowly in a strong labor market, it may have no impact at all as wages tend to rise naturally in a strong labor market.”

Bruce Sacerdote, a labor economist at Dartmouth College, thinks that the labor market in New Hampshire is strong enough to afford some layoff. “I am in favor [of a $15 minimum wage] given recent studies on the minimum wage law that suggest that this does put a floor on wages for low-income folks, and the reductions in employment are not severe,” said Sacerdote.

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Dunkin Donut worker Crystal Lopez, says she can’t afford to buy everything she needs on her minimum wage salary. Photo by Alexandra Palmer.

On this primary day, while a lot of New Yorkers are casting their ballots for the candidate of their choice, fast food workers in Washington Heights are debating the weight this election holds for their economic futures.

“Homelessness and getting laid off are issues everyone’s facing, that’s why we need a new mayor,” said Amy Grossman, 19, a resident of Washington Heights and an employee at the fast food chain Chipotle on 168th and Broadway.

Grossman was referencing the 73% increase in homelessness during Mayor Bloomberg’s 12 years in office.

“I worked for minimum wage, and I just feel it’s horrible,” she said.”

Washington Heights boasts a population of 159,314 residents, mainly Dominican Americans. Workers and residents alike are looking for a mayor that will raise minimum wage, end the threats of homelessness and make a change in their neighborhood and city.

For six years minimum wage has remained frozen at $7.25.

“I’m fine here, Grossman concluded. “I love working here. I have a second job, but that’s for food and shopping expenses.” She said she’ll vote for Thompson, because he seems more involved in the community.

Across the street from Chipotle, Jelani Fernandez, 25, an unemployed resident took a five minute break from his job hunt and sipped a hot cup of coffee in the neighborhood’s McDonald’s. He said he’s not voting because all the candidates appear to be the same. But he wants the new mayor to increase minimum wage, “maybe $15, $16, $17,” he said.

The Washington Heights Chipotle. Photo by Alexandra Palmer

In regards to the ever-widening gap between the city’s rich and poor, Fernandez said fast food is an option for people to not be jobless, but there should be more options.

“This rise of rent, low incomes, more taxes on the lower and middle classes limit people to work and to stay home,” he said. “You have to pay the bills, the electrical bill, phone bill, food bill, you live a slaves life, you go to work and then you go back to your cage.”

Maintaining a job that is unable to provide the basic necessities is not an option for Fernandez.

“If I have no choice or other option, I would take a fast food job with my mind already thinking about the next step in my career to take,” he said.
Another block north, a new Dunkin Donuts has opened up in the neighborhood. Just one month in operation, Dunkin workers there too are in favor of increasing their wages. Crystal Lopez, 22, a Bronx native, said she can’t afford everything she needs on her current wages.

Lopez fears she cannot afford her already humble lifestyle. In the end she said, “only if things start to change will the new mayor become important in my life.”

If forced to make due with the current minimum wage Lopez said she would just make do.

“I’ll just cut my spending and keep working really hard to survive,” she said.

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