Republicans Propose Eliminating Living Wage Ordinance

City Council Republicans are proposing the repeal of an ordinance that requires living wages be paid to workers under certain city service contracts.

The ordinance, “Labor Standards in City Contracting and Purchasing,” requires that, if the city contracts with a company for certain services, the workers for that company be paid a certain living wage. The amount of the living wage in the ordinance is determined by a formula based a federal data.

For 2021, that living wage is $15.03 per hour.

The proposal to repeal the ordinance on living wages is being proposed by the Republicans’ Council President Pro-Tempore, Ald. Robert Smedley (R-4).

The living wage ordinance that Council Republicans propose to repeal requires the $15.03 per hour living wage for workers under any contracts with the city over $25,000, “for the provision of food, clerical, transportation, building, property, equipment or maintenance services,” as well as, “janitorial cleaning, maintenance or related service.” The ordinance does not apply to construction or contracts for services that are “as-needed” or for fewer than five days.

The ordinance that Republicans seek to repeal also includes a provision to give first preference to hiring prospective workers who are residents of New Britain when they are hiring.

City Council Republicans now control 12 of Council’s 15 seats after 2021 city elections, providing total control of city hall to Republican Mayor Erin Stewart and her Republican political machine.

The repeal proposal is on the agenda of the December 8, 2021 Council meeting. Public participation for that meeting begins at 7:00pm, but Council Republicans in the last term decided that only in-person public participation is now allowed. The meeting is on the second floor of city hall at 27 West Main Street.

Editor’s note (12/3/2021): The article was updated to note that the ordinance applies to contracts greater than $25,000.