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Medford council won't support living wage By MELISSA MARTIN A living-wage ordinance in Medford appears dead following a Thursday study session in which the proposal was allowed to fade away. But proponents of a living wage - which would require the city and its contractors to pay workers $10.75 an hour in wages and benefits - vowed to push their belief that Medford needs to raise the minimum wage for its employees and contractors. "This was a time for the city to assume moral leadership and they dropped the ball," said George Hutchinson, a Medford property manager who supports a living-wage ordinance. During a noon study session Thursday, City Council members said they liked the idea, but not the mechanism. They opted not to schedule a public hearing on the matter. "I have worked for minimum wage and I worked hard to get off minimum wage," said Councilman Sal Esquivel. "To me, it's an incentive." Councilwoman Claudette Moore said, "It's not our place to make more laws to dictate wages." But the city already has laws that artificially inflate wages, argued Councilman Bill Moore. The Davis-Bacon Act demands wages as high as $30 an hour for federally funded projects and the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries sets city wages for public works contracts over $25,000. A fence builder contracting with the city, for example, would earn $17.96 an hour, said Jeff Law, assistant city manager. Moore asked Medford Mayor Lindsay Berryman to hold a public hearing about the living-wage ordinance during the next council meeting, but no other council members agreed with him. "I'm a little ashamed of all of you," Moore said. Fresh off a successful push in Ashland, living-wage proponents presented a draft ordinance to Medford during a City Council study session Nov. 8. The council asked city staff to bring back estimates of how much it would cost Medford to implement the law. On Thursday, Law said four new city employees make below $10.75 in wages and benefits, but as soon as they have worked 600 hours, they will qualify for PERS and make about $11.50 in wages and benefits. He also reported that it would cost two agencies that contract with the city - Community Health Center and Community Works - about $13,000 to comply with a living-wage ordinance. Living-wage advocates plan to bring their concerns to a City Council meeting closest to the birthday of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., said Rich Rohde, Rogue Valley organizer for Oregon Action. The group's lobby efforts have resulted in 77 cities adopting living-wage ordinances. "We want to use this as an opportunity to bring workers and the public into the process," Rohde said. Self-employed painting contractor Marty Mosenthiem said a living-wage ordinance is a way to help people who struggle financially. "Many of the people who receive food stamps have jobs - they are just not getting a living wage," Mosenthiem said. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail mmartin@mailtribune.com |
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