Responding to County Commissioner Ken Welch's proposal to raise the minimum wage to $12.50 for county government employees, the Service Employees International Union applauded the measure.
Welch suggested the wage hike at a County Commission meeting Tuesday,and asked County Administrator Mark Woodard to look into what it would take to put the wage hike in place, reported the Tampa Tribune's Steven Girardi.
“The county has focused on poverty reduction the last couple of years,” Welch said, according to the Trib. “It’s a good step for the county; it actually walks the walk.”
The move follows St. Pete's raising of its minimum wage to $12.50 an hour, which Mayor Rick Kriseman negotiated with the SEIU.
In all, the wage hike would only affect the four dozen or so county employees who make less than that amount, but the board also wants the Clerk of Court and other entities to do the same, and hopes to encourage businesses that relocate to the county to pay all employees a living wage.
The union sent out a statement Thursday applauding the county for taking "a good first step."
“The fight that we have started in St. Petersburg to raise the minimum wage has changed the narrative around economic justice for our hard working people,” says Cricket Logan, worker and Union Chapter President at the City of St. Pete. "This landmark victory happened because the workers in St. Petersburg showed the way for other cities and counties to lift their local minimum wage rates. I want to congratulate my brothers and sisters in Pinellas County and assure them that we stand in solidarity with them,” he further added.
The state raised its minimum wage for all workers to $8.05 an hour starting Jan. 1.
This article appears in Jan 15-21, 2015.