Number
181187
Version
SUBSTITUTE 1
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. ZIELINSKI, ALD. RAINEY AND ALD. BAUMAN
Title
Substitute resolution expressing the City of Milwaukee’s support for increasing the minimum wage in Wisconsin.
Analysis
This resolution expresses the City of Milwaukee’s support for Governor Tony Evers’ plan to increase the minimum wage in Wisconsin in phases to $15.00 per hour, with exceptions for teens and rural workers, and thereafter indexing the minimum wage to inflation.
Body
Whereas, Milwaukee suffers from a high rate of poverty, with 28.4% of the city's residents living on incomes below the official federal poverty line; and
Whereas, Such extreme levels of poverty do not simply mean a lack of income, but also make it impossible for many Milwaukeeans to rent decent housing, provide adequate nutrition for themselves and their families, pay their utility bills, and give their children the support needed to succeed in school; and
Whereas, The intense and persistent poverty that many Milwaukeeans experience damages their health, both by increasing stress and by impeding them from getting necessary health care; and
Whereas, The high level of poverty in Milwaukee also raises the rate of crime and disorder, contributing to the shockingly high level of incarceration of African-American men and undermining public safety in many of the city's neighborhoods; and
Whereas, One of the most significant causes of poverty in Milwaukee is that a large share of jobs in the local labor market pay low wages, which makes it difficult for workers who hold those jobs, even those working full-time and year-round, to rise above the poverty line; and
Whereas, Under current state law, the minimum wage for employees in Wisconsin is $7.25 per hour, with some exceptions as follows:
Adult $7.25
Minor $7.25
Opportunity Employee $5.90
Tipped Employee $2.33
Tipped Opportunity Employee $2.13
Caddies 9 holes: $5.90 18 holes: $10.50
1. An employer must pay at least...
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