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RESOLUTION NO:
<br />
<br />7648-02
<br />
<br />BY: Corrigan, Dunn, FitzGerald,
<br />George, Roth, Seelie, Skindell.
<br />
<br /> A RESOLUTION to encourage the Board of Comrai~ioners of Cuyahoga
<br />County, Ohio to adopt a living wage resolution based on the reasonable proposition that
<br />no one working full time should live in poverty.
<br />
<br /> WHEREAS, assent to this proposition would thereby require the Board of
<br />Commissioners to establish and ensure payment of a living wage and health care benefits
<br />for the following:
<br />
<br />(1) any worker employed by the Cuyahoga County Board of Comml.qsioners;
<br />(2) any worker of an employer receiving financial assistance or subsidy from
<br /> Cuyahoga County;
<br />(3) any worker employed by employers contracting with Cuyahoga County for
<br /> the provision of goods and services; and
<br />
<br /> WHEREAS, a living wage is the amount a person would need to earn to stay
<br />above the federal poverty level, which varies city by city and county by county because it
<br />takes into consideration the cost of living to include housing, food, child care, health care,
<br />transportation, etc. in each' location (In 2000, this amounted to $17,050 a year for a
<br />family of four, or $8.20 per hour for a full-time, year round worker.); and
<br />
<br /> WHEREAS, despite a surging economy throughout the 1990S, the average
<br />American employee worked 140 more hours in 1998 than did the average employee in
<br />1973, and many working families continued to struggle as their average incomes--
<br />adjusted for inflation--were 1 l-percent lower than in 1979, creating the widest economic
<br />gap between rich and poor in our country at anytime in the post-WW II era; and
<br />
<br /> WHEREAS, a 2000 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report
<br />found that a record 5.4 million low-income families pay over half their income for
<br />housing or live in dilapidated housing, a 12-percent increase since 1991, and many iow-
<br />wage workers are unable to find affordable housing in the communities where they work
<br />and must endure increasingly long commutes, on top of an already long workday; and
<br />
<br /> WHEREAS, there are numerous reasons that explain why working families have
<br />lost earning power over the past few decades, including the diminution of unions, the
<br />shift from manufacturing to services, urban flight and reduced political support for cities,
<br />tax incentives that promote the outward migration of businesses from urban centers, and
<br />the privatization of services formerly provided by the public sector; and
<br />
<br /> WHEREAS, 58 living wage ordinances have been enacted throughout our nation,
<br />with the majority of economic research concluding that the aggregate benefits outweigh
<br />aggregate costs, even in the short run; and
<br />
<br /> WHEREAS, when workers are paid enough to support their families, they no
<br />longer need to rely on public assistance in the form of housing subsidies, medical
<br />assistance, food stamps and welfare, thereby relieving taxpayers from subsidizing
<br />employers who do not pay living wages; and
<br />
<br /> WHEREAS, when workers are paid enough to support their families, they pay
<br />more taxes and buy more goods and services in the local economy, thereby stimulating
<br />growth of neighborhood economies which has the potential to help rebuild communities
<br />and spur the creation of new jobs; and
<br />
<br /> WBEREAS, studies indicate that businesses that pay higher wages experience
<br />reduced job turnover, an ability to fill vacancies sooner, greater worker productivity,
<br />improved morale and an overall increase in job satisfaction that generate cost saving
<br />benefits and efficiency gains that not only offset higher labor costs but, in some cases,
<br />actually contribute to increased profitability [Collin.% Chuck and Scott Klinger and Karen
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