60 turn out to protest malt shop

About 60 people carried signs, shouted into bullhorns and waved at passing cars Tuesday morning as part of a protest and boycott of the Route 66 Malt Shop, which isn’t paying its employees the new minimum wage.

Eric Szeman, owner of the malt shop, came out and confronted the protesters at one point, telling them to get off the property. Most moved to the sidewalk but continued the protest.

“I just saved 12 jobs,” he told the protesters, arguing that he’d have to close if he complied with the ordinance.

The critics weren’t swayed. Protesters said Szeman is stealing his workers wages by not paying them what’s required under the voter-approved law and that he can’t pick which laws to follow.

Pat Davis of ProgressNow New Mexico said the protesters were standing up “for the employees who can’t stand up for themselves.”

“Hard work deserves fair pay,” he said.

I’ll have more on this in tomorrow’s paper. You can find the background here.