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Chicago Passes 'Living Wage Law' 'Big-Box' Retailers Like Wal-Mart Required to Pay Workers Higher Wages!!
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Hooray for the little people!
[link to abcnews.go.com]
Chicago Passes 'Living Wage Law'
'Big-Box' Retailers Like Wal-Mart Required to Pay Workers Higher Wages
By BARBARA PINTO
July 26, 2006 — - Weeks of heated debate ended in passage of a "living wage law" in Chicago -- the first in the nation to target mega-retailers.
City aldermen passed the measure in a 35-14 vote after more than three hours of impassioned arguments. It will require Wal-Mart and other so-called big-box stores, including Target and Home Depot, to pay workers a minimum of $9.25 an hour -- up from the city's current minimum of $6.25.
After the vote, outside city council chambers, supporters of the legislation chanted, "We beat Wal-Mart."
The law will apply only to stores with at least 90,000 square feet and a billion dollars in annual sales companywide.
Community Workers Welcome the News
In one struggling westside Chicago neighborhood, where workers are putting the finishing touches on the city's first Wal-Mart, the new law is welcome news.
"People have bills, rent to pay, and $6 an hour is not going to work for them," says Kanisha Adams, a nursing student.
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