From the Chicago Tribune:
By Gary Washburn Tribune staff reporter
Published September 11, 2006, 12:58 PM CDT
Mayor Richard Daley today vetoed the "big-box" minimum
wage ordinance, setting the stage for a veto override vote at
Wednesday's City Council meeting.
But Daley's action signaled he has the necessary support on the council to sustain the veto.
The ordinance requires that beginning next July, employees will be paid a minimum of $9.25 an hour in wages and $1.50 in fringe benefits, figures that will rise to $10 and $3, respectively, by 2010. Automatic
annual cost-of-living increases will apply thereafter.
By comparison, the federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour, while the state minimum is $6.50 an hour—but both amounts can be less if employees receive tips.
"I understand and share a desire to ensure that everyone who works in the city of Chicago earns a decent wage," Daley said in a letter addressed to the council that was filed with the City Clerk's office. "But I do not believe that this ordinance, well intentioned as it may be, would achieve that end.
"Rather, I believe it would drive jobs and businesses from our city, penalizing neighborhoods that need additional economic activity the most," Daley said. "In light of this, I believe it is my duty to veto this ordinance."It was the first time in Daley's 17 years as mayor he exercised his veto power. By law, the mayor had until Wednesday's council meeting to issue his veto.
In a rare display of defiance, aldermen had voted 35-14 on July 26 to pass the minimum-wage law over the mayor's opposition.
Retailers had threatened to challenge the new law, absent any signal from City Hall that Daley was going to veto it.
The ordinance applies to stores of at least 90,000 square feet operated by firms with $1 billion or more in annual sales.
Earlier this summer, Wal-Mart said plans for as many as 20 stores in the city over the coming years could be affected by the ordinance's passage. Before the City Council vote, Target Corp. had told three South Side aldermen that planned stores in their wards were being put on hold pending the vote.
"By vetoing this ordinance, the mayor has decided to stand with the most powerful, profitable corporations in the world against the taxpayers, the working men and women of this city," Ald. Joe Moore (49th), the Big Box measure's sponsor, told WGN-Ch. 9.
"I'm very disappointed and hope my colleagues will stand firm and override the mayor's veto on Wednesday," Moore said.
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Copyright © 2006, Chicago TribuneLink: Daley vetoes 'big box' ordinance | Chicago Tribune.
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