Greater Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors
Resolution to Oppose Ballot Measure 3
WHEREAS, employers and workers, not the government, should be left to determine the value of labor, based on labor availability and its contribution to the earnings of a business;
WHEREAS, 99 percent of all hourly wage workers in Alaska already earn above the minimum wage and 83 percent of minimum wage earners are teenagers living with working parents, adults living alone, or dual income couples;
WHEREAS, the Congressional Budget Office has acknowledged there is a trade off in jobs as the minimum wage rises;
WHEREAS, increasing the minimum wage increases labor costs and reduces job opportunities for the lowest-skilled employees, including teenagers and college students, robbing them of the best opportunities to gain valuable work experience;
WHEREAS, the options available to businesses to cover the increased costs of a higher minimum wage are limited and include hiring fewer employees, a reduction in wages and benefits to existing workers, and lower profits;
WHEREAS, businesses competing globally cannot raise prices without reducing volumes, which might turn a successful business into a failing business;
WHEREAS, minimum wage workers’ total compensation might be more than simply hourly wages and may include gratuities, travel, room and board, healthcare, life insurance, and paid time off;
WHEREAS, increasing the minimum wage is a one size fits all approach which fails to address the real problem of poverty;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT, we, the undersigned, oppose the passage of Ballot Measure 3 in the Alaska statewide general election on November 4th, 2014 and urge all Alaskans to vote “no” on 3.
Approved this _____ day of September, 2014
Nancy Christian, President Chelsea Goucher, Executive Director