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By Curtis Wackerle
Aspen Daily News, October 25, 2016

The Aspen Skiing Co. has come out in support of a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would raise the minimum wage in Colorado to $12 an hour by 2020. ...

A statement from the campaign to pass the amendment touted SkiCo’s endorsement, noting that it is one of 250 businesses that have publicly endorsed the plan. Matthew Hamilton, the company’s sustainability director, said in the release that increasing the minimum wage will help combat income inequality “while increasing our ability to recruit and retain employees.”

Should the measure pass, no SkiCo workers will get an immediate raise, since all entry level jobs currently pay more than the initial floor imposed by Amendment 70, said company spokesman Jeff Hanle. New hires coming on this season in mountain and lift operations can expect to make $11.75 an hour, Hanle said, with a $1 bonus per hour worked if they make it through the winter.

“We are supporting it because we think it’s the right thing to do statewide,” Hanle said of Amendment 70.

Hanle noted that tipped positions typically have lower hourly rates — the tipped-worker minimum wage is $5.29 per hour — but those employees clear the established minimums once tips are figured in. By law, if a tipped worker with a below-minimum-wage hourly rate does not make the minimum once tips are figured in, employers must increase their hourly compensation. Amendment 70 preserves a lower hourly rate for tipped workers, but they would see minimum base compensation rise to $8.98 per hour by 2020. ...

[S]tatements in support argue that higher wages would lead to happier workers, higher productivity, lower turnover and would help the lowest-paid workers catch up to cost of living factors that have been increasing faster than the minimum wage.

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