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Living Wage Bill Gets Push From Public Advocate De Blasio, Silence From Quinn

By

John Del Signore

Published Dec 19, 2011

Modified Dec 19, 2011

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By

John Del Signore

Published Dec 19, 2011

Modified Dec 19, 2011

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In a letter sent yesterday to Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said it's time to take action on a Living Wage bill. The bill, which is currently in limbo in the City Council, would require some companies receiving city tax breaks to pay employees $10 an hour plus benefits or $11.50 without. De Blasio is expected to face Quinn in the Democratic primary for mayor, and the debate over a living wage has put Quinn in a difficult position, because the business community and her mentor Mayor Bloomberg are firmly opposed to it.

In his letter (below), de Blasio calls the bill an "immediate and important" step for the city. "Over 
the
 last
 decade,
 we 
have 
not
 done 
enough 
to 
grow
 the
 prospects 
of 
all
 New
 Yorkers," de Blasio wrote in the letter. "

Government 
must
 assert
 itself
 as 
a
 force
 on 
the 
side 
of 
the 
middle 
class,
 using 
all
 tools 
to
 encourage
 economic 
activity
 that 
creates 
jobs,
 and
 ensure
 that
 workers 
experience 
the
 benefits
 that 
are
 associated
 with
 that
 economic 
activity.

 This 
has
 not
 been 
the
 City’s 
approach 
to 
date
 in 
its
 contracting
 process, 
pension 
investments,
 or 
in
 the 
regulation
 of 
businesses. 

In
 no
 place 
is
 the
 potential
 for 
that
 role
 stronger,
 and
 the 
missed 
opportunity 
greater,
 than 
in 
the 
case
 of 
the 
economic
 development
 subsidies
 that
 the
 City 
dispenses 
through 
the 
Economic 
Development 
Corporation.
"

But de Blasio is calling for one change to the bill: protecting smaller businesses by increasing the amount of annual revenue, from $5 million, that a business must earn to cause the requirement to kick in. Quinn's spokesperson tells the Times, "We appreciate his input." It's up to Quinn to call for a vote on the matter, and she has yet to indicate where she stands. Last month Bloomberg's Deputy Mayor Robert Steel warned that the bill would jeopardize affordable housing projects and cost the city entry-level jobs, as well as skilled construction jobs as "many projects become financially unfeasible."

Living Wage

Tagged

bill de blasio

christine quinn

living wage

Politics

John Del Signore

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Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.

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