‘LIVING WAGE’ PROPOSAL ON TABLE

By Larry Ault/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

Pine Bluff voters will be asked to decide the fate of a “living wage” proposal at Tuesday’s general election, which if approved would set a minimum wage for city employees and employees of city contractors.

The measure was placed on the ballot after Jefferson County ACORN (Arkansas Community Organizations for Reform Now) submitted 3,594 verified signatures on petitions asking the city to set a minimum wage for city employees and employees of contractors at $9.30 an hour if they receive health and child care benefits and $10.55 per hour without benefits.

The measure has generated criticism from the business community.

Citing the current financial situation facing the city and the negative impact on entrepreneurs that may be considering doing business with the city, the Greater Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted to oppose the initiated “living wage” ordinance.

“The chamber believes that all employees should be paid wages appropriate to their skills,” said Board Chairman Larry Lynn.

“To set the wages of city employees regardless of skills or education and the wages contractors with the city must pay its employees places an extreme burden on both,” he said.

“As a business membership organization, we believe that wages should be based on education, skills and performance, not legislation,” he said.

The potential of a resulting ripple from the “living wage” ordinance could negatively impact not only existing businesses, but also could stifle Pine Bluff’s potential for attracting new business-industry, and new jobs, to the city, Lynn said.

Pine Bluff already faces a financial crisis and it would be anticipated that potential employers would pass along the wage increases to the city, adding to its financial difficulties, he said.

Provisions of the initiated ordinance state that “every covered employer must pay covered employees no less than a living wage, which shall be $10.55 per hour” and beginning on Jan. 1, the amount of the living wage “shall be upwardly adjusted in proportion to the increase” in the Consumer Price Index.

The ballot title sets the living wage at “$9.30 per hour for covered employers who provide health or child care expenditures at a rate of $1.25 for each hour worked on average” for an employee who is working on a city project or contract.

Provisions name “temporary service, staffing or employment agency” as subject to the requirements but exempt professional services.

The ordinance requires the employers to differentiate between employees who work on city of Pine Bluff projects and those who do not and pay accordingly for the hours worked on a city project. If the employer cannot make a determination, then its entire workforce must receive the living wage.

“Figuring the living wage can become a nightmare for an employer,” Lynn said.

On the other side of the issue, supporters of the Pine Bluff Living Wage ordinance claim the proposal will help the city and have urged voters to support it.

Members of Jefferson County ACORN said similar measures have been enacted in 140 cities across the country with little or no impact on city budgets or contractor costs.

Supporters said the wage level will be easy to determine and should pose no problem or “nightmares” for contractors.

In Arkansas, the Central Arkansas Library System and the Hot Springs library system have adopted living wage policies.

“There have been several studies on the impact of living wage policies on cities. Most of them show that the impact on the city’s budget is minimal and the impact on the cost of city contracts is minimal,” said Maxine Nelson, chairman of the local ACORN chapter.

“Wage have not kept pace with the cost of living. A living wage policy will mean that jobs created with taxpayer dollars will pay a worker enough to support his or her family at the federal poverty level. That’s not asking a lot,” Nelson said.

“Wage increases are good for the local economy. Low-wage workers who benefit from higher wages will spend all of the increases in the cities where they work. A living wage will help local businesses in Pine Bluff,” Nelson contended.

“We strongly urge all Pine Bluff voters to do something good for our city by voting for the Pine Bluff Living Wage ordinance. It’s time we honored hard work by paying good wages,” Nelson added.