Washtenaw County, MI Living Wage
Date: October 17, 2001
Type: Ordinance
Status: Adopted
Resolution:
WHEREAS, Washtenaw County annually awards dollars in service and vendor contracts to non-governmental agencies, private contractors or vendors, to provide services on behalf of Washtenaw County; and
WHEREAS, the Michigan League for Human Services found in its October 1998 report, “Economic Self-Sufficiency: A Michigan Benchmark,” that a family of three required at that time, on average, $2,742 a month to pay for basic living essentials which is $15.83 per hour for a single worker household; and
WHEREAS, federal and state minimum wages, currently set at $5.15 per hour, mean that a full-time, full-year minimum wage employee earns only $10,712 a year, while the 2000 United States Department of Health and Human Services federal poverty guideline was $14,150 per year for a three-person family; and
WHEREAS, two studies of the effect of the living wage ordinance in Baltimore present evidence that indicates increased employee moral and productivity, and a decrease in employee turnover as a result of the living wage requirements; and
WHEREAS, as an employer, the County can serve as a positive example by adopting living wage policies for its own workforce, resulting in lower turnover, better morale, and higher productivity for county employees that are providing their services to the County and general public; and
WHEREAS, this matter has been reviewed by Corporation Counsel, Human Resources, the County Administrator’s Office and the Ways & Means Committee
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners hereby adopts a Living Wage Ordinance for Washtenaw County, as attached hereto and made a part hereof
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Commissioners hereby directs the County Clerk to publish the adopted Living Wage Ordinance in a newspaper of general circulation in the County.
Ordinance text: http://ewashtenaw.org/government/boc/agenda/bd/year_2001/2001-10-17bd/bc_01-10-17bd14.pdf