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A
Victory for the Living Wage and Local Democracy in Champaign
County
by Michael Lehman
On February 25, 2002, two important things happened
in Champaign County. First, after four and a half years
of research, community education, and organizational networking,
the Champaign County Living Wage Association (CCLWA) achieved
a significant goal when the Champaign County Board, witnessed
by an overflowing crowd of Living Wage supporters, voted
by a margin of 18 to 3 to adopt a Living Wage resolution.
Second, local democracy scored a major victory in that
a coalition of over forty civic, religious, and labor
organizations formed a consensus that wages lower than
the poverty level were unacceptable, brought its case
to its representatives on the County Board, and succeeded
in convincing them that no county employee should ever
be subjected to such inhumane and degrading remuneration.
Introduced by board member Jennifer Putman, the measure
received overwhelming support from the Democrats. Only
Democrat Steven Beckett voted against it. But the resolution
also was supported by six members of the Republican minority.
The ChampaignCounty Board thus becomes the third local
governmental authority to adopt a Living Wage policy,
following the adoption of similar policies by the boards
of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and the
Champaign County Housing Authority.
The resolution commits the county to paying all of its
full-time employees at a level at least equivalent to
the federal poverty level for a family of four, currently
$8.70 an hour ($18,100 a year). This wage amount is indexed
so that it is adjusted annually to reflect increases in
the cost of living.
The resolution also specifies that the county will make
health benefits available to employees and their dependents.
And there is a further provision prohibiting the county
from contracting out to private employers any work presently
done by county employees, unless the private employer
pays at least a living wage and offers group health benefits
to its employees.
Twenty-nine employees of the Champaign County Nursing
Home - mostly female and to a significant extent persons
of color - will be immediate direct beneficiaries of the
resolution, when their wages increase to at least $8.70
an hour on December 1, 2002. Some of these employees are
currently receiving wages in the range of $6.00 to $7.00
per hour.
But the pressure that the Living Wage campaign brought
to bear had already resulted in many county employees
seeing wage increases even before the Living Wage policy
was officially adopted. The CCLWAworked to raise awareness
among candidates and voters during the 2000 county board
election cycle. A number of candidates who supported a
Living Wage policy were elected to the county board, along
with the first Democratic majority in many years. This
change in leadership resulted in labor being treated with
greater respect, in contrast to the union-busting tactics
of previous administrations. Prior to the 2000 election,
about 20% of all county employees earned less than the
Living Wage.Following the election much progress was made,
and the number of full-time employees earning less than
a Living Wage fell as contracts were renegotiated. With
the vote on February 25, all county employees can now
look forward to at least a Living Wage.
For many residents of Champaign County, this policy may
come as something of a surprise. The efforts of the coalition
that the CCLWA put together have been mostly ignored by
the media. Although it did publish a Commentary by someone
involved in the campaign over a year ago, the Champaign
News-Gazette adopted a policy of relegating what little
news it printed on the Living Wage campaign to the Business
section. Editors apparently felt thatthe issue was one
which employers needed to know about, but they seemed
to hope that hiding it away in the Business section would
keep most workers from finding out about the issue and
the campaign in support of it.Then, on February 12, when
it became known that the Living Wage resolution would
be soon be voted on by the County Board, the News-Gazette
editorial board published an unsigned editorial that was
little more than a misinformed attack on the idea,claiming
that people working in jobs paying less than a Living
Wage were simply too unambitious to get a better paying
job despite their needs. The paper then refused the right
of reply to a factual article, written by a member of
the CCLWA, which explained the need for the Living Wage
locally and refuted the News-Gazette's arguments against
it. In the end, though,the organizing efforts of the community's
citizens overcame the elitist arguments of the News-Gazette
and led to a hard-won victory.
The Living Wage campaign has already had a great deal
of influence locally, asdemonstrated by the enormous progress
in more fairly compensating workers that the county board
had made even prior to its official adoption of a Living
Wage policy. As word of what it really takes to elevate
a family’s income even to the poverty line spreads, activists
hope that it will inspire discussions in both public and
private sector workplaces throughout the county. To date,
the Living Wage policies that have been adopted locally
apply only topublic employees. However, it has been a
tendency in the United States for government to be the
first to adopt positive polices, whicheventually spread
by way of example to the private sector. In other communities,
Living Wage polices have been applied to services contracted
for by governmental bodies, to economic development
assistance (as a requirement for access to funds and/or
tax abatements by the businesses
receiving them), and to entire districts as a part of
economic development initiatives.
The Living Wage is not beneficial only to workers. It
is also good for government, since workers paid a Living
Wage are more likely to become homeowners, and to pay
higher property and sales taxes. Families better able
to support themselves require less government assistance,
whether financed by local, state, or federal taxes, such
as food stamps and Section 8 housing vouchers. The benefits
for employers are also obvious. A Living Wage results
in higher workplace morale, less employee turnover and
thus lower training costs, and greater productivity and
efficiency.
The increased spending power at the bottom of the income
scale tends to stay in the community, as these workers
must still spend the bulk of their income on the necessities
of life. Raising average earnings in a community also
raises the demographic attractiveness to a business looking
to locate in our area. Allowing people to pay their own
way by earning a Living Wage, rather than relying on government
and charity for assistance, reduces the load on other
taxpayers and allows charitable giving to go further in
helping the genuinely needy.
So what is next for the local Living Wage campaign? Both
the cities of Champaign and Urbana already pay nearly
all of their full-time employees a Living Wage. However,
they should also adopt officialLiving Wage policies because
of the effect that a good example has on others, and as
a way to assure the public that they will not succumb
to the all too common practice of trying to realize economies
by contracting out decent-paying governmentjobs to private
employers who do not pay life-sustaining wages or offer
health benefits. Such adoption would also indicate important
philosophical and moral recognition and support, on the
part of the two cities, of the positive impactthat paying
a Living Wage has on the community.
The CCLWA thanks its numerous supporters throughout the
community, and asks for their continuing support in promoting
the idea that a fair day's work deserves a Living Wage.
It invites your active participation in its ongoing efforts.
The CCLWA meets at noon on the third Saturday ofevery
month at the Illinois Education Association/NEA office
above Pard's Western Shop, 304 North Maple, in Urbana.
Enter through the door in the center of the front of the
building. Stairs and an elevator allow access to the second
floor, where the IEA office is located at the end of the
hallway.
Michael Lehman is the Coordinator
of the Champaign County Living Wage Association. Further
information about the Living Wage campaign can be found
at http://www.prairienet.org/livingwage.
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