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LOCAL News :: Labor

Big Box Living Wage Ordinance Passes in Chicago

On July 26th, the Chicago City Council approved an ordinance that will require Big Box retailers to pay workers a living wage.
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AP photo
After a raging battle in Chicago this week, the council voted 35 to 14 to approve the ordinance, leaving no possibility for Mayor Daley to use his veto power. The ordinance will require a $10 minimum hourly wage and $3 an hour in fringe benefits, with annual indexing for inflation, for big box retail stores that are at least 90,000 feet and have gross annual sales of $1 billion.

"When you work for the people doing God's work - fighting to give working families a fair chance to succeed - you're going to win," said ACORN community leader Toni Foulkes after learning about the victory.

The ordinance passed despite opposition and an expensive media and public relations campaign waged by Wal-Mart, other major retailers, and Mayor Daley. More than a year ago, Chicago ACORN began working on an ordinance to increase the wages and benefits at big box retail stores. The Brennan Center at NYU helped write the ordinance, and Chicago ACORN and the Grassroots Collaborative initiated a broad-based campaign to win approval of the law. A broad coalition including more than 30 organizations; labor unions including the UFCW, SEIU, UNITE/HERE, Chicago Federation of Labor, and Change to Win; church groups and ministers, worked together to gather support for the living wage ordinance in Chicago. Their grassroots efforts included door-knocking, phone calls and visits to aldermen, vigils, rallies, and community events that continued up to the final vote on Wednesday afternoon.

Other cities with living-wage laws include Santa Fe and Albuquerque in New Mexico; San Francisco; and Washington, DC.
 
 

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