Friday, April 07, 2006

City of Miami passes Living Wage Ordinance

First Miami-Dade had one. Now the City of Miami has one. Is UM really leading the market? Here's a press release from the Community Coalition for a Living Wage.

CCLW APPLAUDS THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AND MAYOR DIAZ FOR ENACTING A LIVING WAGE ORDINANCE

Miami, FL: On Thursday, April 6, 2006, the Miami City Commission unanimously passed a living wage ordinance. The ordinance was brought to the Commission by Mayor Diaz as part of his anti-poverty campaign to increase the quality of life for the residents of the city. The ordinance will cover city employees and the employees of city services contractors, require payment of $10.58 per hour if the employer provides health insurance, or $11.83 per hour if not. The ordinance shall become effective October 1, 2006.

Miami joins over 130 municipalities throughout the nation, including Miami-Dade County and Miami Beach, in enacting a law requiring local government and their contractors receiving public economic assistance to pay their employees a "living wage." A living wage allows a full time worker to attain self-sufficiency and support a family of four on an income above the poverty level.

Co-Chair of Miami's Community Coalition for a Living Wage (CCLW) Arthur Rosenberg said, "this is a bold and important step for our city, its residents and its workers. It will guarantee the most basic of commitments to workers providing city services-a fair days pay for a fair days work. We applaud the Mayor and the Commission for this dynamic initiative."

(CCLW) is a broad based community coalition in Miami-Dade County created to eliminate poverty in our community by assuring that workers earn enough money to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

Media contact: Ben Burton, Executive Director, Miami Coalition for the Homeless, Inc. (305) 571-8101.

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