This is a measure aimed largely at WalMart (who will undoubtedly soon roll out their brand new 89,999 square foot WalMartEttes).
CHICAGO -- The City Council brushed aside warnings from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to approve an ordinance that makes Chicago the biggest city in the nation to require big-box retailers to pay a "living wage."
The ordinance, which passed 35-14 Wednesday after three hours of impassioned debate, requires mega-retailers to pay wages of at least $10 an hour plus $3 in fringe benefits by mid-2010. It would only apply to companies with more than $1 billion in annual sales and stores of at least 90,000 square feet.
"It's trying to get the largest companies in America to pay decent wages," Alderman Toni Preckwinkle said.
The minimum wage in Illinois is $6.50 an hour and the federal minimum is $5.15.
Mayor Richard M. Daley and others warned the living wage proposal would drive jobs and desperately needed development from some of the city's poorest neighborhoods and lead giants like Wal-Mart to abandon the city.
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