The San Diego City Council unanimously approved CPI's package of proposals to strengthen and extend the Living Wage Ordinance! The vote Monday came after a rally and worker testimony organized by CPI, the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, and the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice.
This important victory will greatly boost the impact of the living wage law enacted in 2005.It closes loopholes in the application of the law and creates a fair and open process for investigating and correcting violations by contractors.
Here's what the council approved:
Closing loopholes:
The living wage law will apply to any service contract awarded through the privatization process called "managed competition."
The Civic Theatre will be added to the list of city facilities covered by the law.This means 173 workers there -- including ushers, concession workers, security guards and janitors -- will get the living wage.
Enforcement:
The City must investigate all worker complaints of violations of the Living Wage Ordinance in a reasonable timeframe.
If contractors do not correct confirmed violations within 30 days, the City has four options for further action, ranging from canceling the contract to filing a lawsuit that, if successful, would mean stiff fines and triple damages to the worker.
Whistleblower protection is now part of the living wage law.Contractors are prohibited from retaliating or in any way discriminating against workers who complain.
The living wage is the minimum companies must pay to workers on City contracts.The wage level, which increases each year with inflation, is now $12.70 an hour, including health care coverage or a differential to buy health insurance.
For many working families, the living wage law has made the difference between living in poverty and living self sufficiently. Now this valuable law will have more teeth!
Thank you to everyone who wrote letters or made phone calls, and especially to those who came out for the rally and council hearing yesterday! Your voices were heard!
"No business which
depends for its existence on paying less than living wages to its
workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages, I
mean more than a bare substistence level. I mean wages of decent
living."
~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt
David Parkes, Security Guard
"This Living Wage Ordinance is an important step for people who have been struggling to get by."
The living wage ordinance enacted in San Diego in 2005 hasn't made David Parkes wealthy, but it saved him from bankruptcy and possibly medical disaster.
Working for a private security company at a major San Diego water plant, Parkes was making $8.85 an hour, with no health insurance. He relied on county clinics and hospital emergency rooms to control his kidney disease, and racked up huge medical bills.
Since the city required contractors to pay a "living wage," the 62-year-old guard now makes $10 an hour plus health care benefits. With more regular medical care, he stays healthier and is slowly paying off his bills.
"It definitely helps to have health benefits," Parkes said. "There's no way I could afford to purchase my own insurance on my wages."
