Jersey City takes the living wage leap

The pay rate, explained Maia Davis, a spokeswoman for 32BJ, the local chapter of the Service Employees International Union, is either based on the wage set for a job sector via collective bargaining or, if there is no large collective bargaining agreement, at 150 percent of the federal minimum wage.

In city owned buildings, janitors’ pay would jump from $10.50 an hour to $14.15 an hour, as per the standard pay already set in Hudson County through collective bargaining in the private sector, and they would be provided with $649 per month in family coverage for benefits. This standard would also be set for janitors in city-subsidized buildings who weren’t previously covered by the living wage ordinance and who were making significantly less.

Similarly, security officers in city-owned buildings would see their pay go up to 150 percent of the federal minimum wage, currently set at $10.88 per hour, because there is no standard set in the county. Davis, however, said the union is working on achieving this. The officers’ benefits would be unchanged, and is worth $3.10 per hour. By comparison, those who work in city-subsidized buildings were often only making minimum wage. They too will now be covered in future projects economically subsidized by the city.

Clerical and food service workers would also see a wage increase of 150 percent of the federal minimum wage, and their benefits would bump up to the $3.10 per hour supplement the security officers already receive. Prior to the bill’s passing they received $2,000 in health benefits for the year. These employees would not be covered in city subsidized buildings, however.

Jersey City is the first in the state to pass a living wage ordinance, so it will be a test case here. Research on other living wage ordinances is mixed, though most show a reduction in poverty and an increase in wages for the lowest-wage earners in cities where the wage has been imposed.

The hope is that Jersey City will ignite a small brush fire that will lead to more living wage ordinances in the state.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet