Monday is Labor Day, the occasion to honor American workers.
There are locals who have that as a paid day off. Enjoy, and be careful on the roads.
But lots of our neighbors also are at work that day in Bayfield, Ignacio, Durango, and around the country. They may or may not be getting holiday pay.
They tend to work in low-wage, low-status jobs that are essential for our local and national economies to function, and they are the frontline people who shape a customer's opinion of their employer's business, for better or worse.
On Monday when you are out and about, please show these folks some politeness and respect. Imagine if they weren't there, and all the restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, liquor stores, motels, main street and big box stores were closed, even for one day.
La Plata County is one of various places in Colorado where these essential workers deal with more than low wages. They also struggle with high housing costs.
Bayfield and Forest Lakes have become sanctuaries for people who work in Durango but can't afford to live there. Even these are a financial stretch for some workers. They live south of the state line instead.
These two issues come together in state and local efforts to raise the minimum wage, especially where housing costs are high. In La Plata County, that group calls itself the Living Wage Coalition. The living wage in the county is listed at $12.40 per hour.
They come together as Chamber of Commerce issues as well.
Affordable workforce housing is one of those situations where the free market isn't meeting the community need. The local real estate market seems to have recovered from the 2008 real estate bust. But the houses working stiffs can afford are not the ones getting built. Even a lot of apartment construction is aimed at the upscale market.
One reason is high land costs in most of La Plata County. Another is the cost of infrastructure. Making development pay its own way may mean no development that working stiffs can afford. Local government officials need to look at this, for the good of our communities.
Then there's that growing trend of vacation rentals by owners (VRBOs). How can those not affect the availability of affordable housing for the wpeople who actually live (or would like to) and work in the community? Even without that hit on supply, rent prices have been rising faster than wages.
The flip side of this is the effect on businesses that can't find employees because of high housing costs. Employee turnover is expensive and reduces the quality of that important front-line service. How many local businesses can afford to pay what their workers need to afford local housing?
That gets back to that other Chamber of Commerce issue, the minimum wage. Business interests tend to oppose an increase.
I'm very mindful of the potential impact on small local businesses. But I also believe the best way to improve the economy and our communities is to raise up the people at the bottom, so they have more to spend, including at small local businesses.
It's something to consider this Labor Day.
