On Wednesday, the Chicago City Council approved an ordinance that will require Big Box retailers to pay workers a living wage — an initiative that economic justice activists say hails a new day in the battle to get large corporations like Wal-Mart to scale back their exploitation of workers.

After a fierce months-long battle between supporters and opponents of the effort, the Chicago City Council voted 35 to 14 to approve the ordinance. The veto-proof majority represents a rare departure by aldermen from the wishes of Mayor Daley, who has vigorously opposed the initiative. The new ordinance mandates a $10 minimum hourly wage and $3 an hour in fringe benefits, with annual indexing for inflation for big box retail stores of 90,000 feet and up that have gross annual sales of $1 billion. Full story.