Skip to main content

Baltimore's Mayor Vetoes $15/Hour Minimum Wage Bill


Last Friday, in a somewhat surprising move, the Mayor of Baltimore vetoed a bill which would have raised the minimum wage rate in the city to $15/hour.  Currently, the minimum wage in the state of Maryland is $8.75/hour with a mandated hike to $9.25/hour coming in July and another hike to $10.10/hour coming next year. Under this proposed measure, employers with 50 or more employees in Baltimore would have been required to raise wages to $15/hour by 2022; employers with fewer than 50 employees would have been required to meet that pay threshold by 2026.

The Mayor, Catherine Pugh, noted that she vetoed the bill in part because of concern that a $15/hour wage rate in the city would disadvantage businesses and hourly workers.  Given that surrounding cities and states would have lower wage rates (in comparison to the proposed $15/hour wage rate), the Mayor expressed concern that employers in Baltimore would leave and take jobs elsewhere.  It is interesting to note, however, that Mayor Pugh is a Democrat yet she still vetoed this bill.  Given that Democrats have traditionally been the party that advocates for higher wage rates, Mayor Pugh's opposition to the bill is somewhat of an eye brow raising situation.

The bill, which had been approved by an 11 - 3 vote by the Baltimore City Council, now faces an uncertain future.  To overcome the Mayor's veto, 12 votes in favor of the bill would be required.  However, at this time, it does not appear that 12 City Council members would actually vote in favor of the bill (and take the somewhat unprecedented step of overriding the veto).  I will still say to stay tuned..but for those hoping for a minimum wage hike in Baltimore (beyond what is mandated statewide), I do not think this bill has much of a likelihood of becoming a reality at this point.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations
Post a Comment
Read more