Portland voters will decide in November whether to raise the city's minimum wage.
The citizens initiative originally proposed increasing the city's minimum wage to $20 an hour for businesses with 50 or more workers, but the council passed an amended version on Monday with an increase of $19 an hour.
Nate Cloutier with Hospitality Maine says labor is roughly a third of a business' costs. Any increase in the minimum wage, he says, could lead to closings.
"It's not a luxury of absorbing more. Restaurants operate on 3-5% margins if they're lucky. Some net zero if they have to make it all during the summer season to have to lose it for the other eight months of the year," Cloutier said.
The minimum wage in Portland was raised by referendum in 2020 and cannot be amended for five years, except by referendum. If voters pass the measure, Portland's minimum wage will increase to $19 in phases by 2028.
Buddy Moore works in the food industry and says rapid inflation and increases in the cost of living are causing his coworkers to suffer.
"A friend and coworker was literally selling his blood plasma to pay rent. People shouldn't have to struggle like that. It is the role of elected officials to act on the facts on the ground. The very people who make our economy run are being priced out," Moore said.
Portland's minimum wage is currently $15.50 an hour.
