DETROIT (WWJ) – Mayor Mike Duggan says the time is now to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour for all Detroit city employees.
The city has been tracking and steadily increasing wages the last three years for employees earning below that mark. On Wednesday, Duggan and City Councilmember Latisha Johnson laid out plans to complete that task.
The move would increase starting wages to a minimum of $15 for all city positions, and would bring about 270 current employees up to that mark. While most of the city's roughly 9,000 employees are already at $15 or above, the proposed increase would bring the remaining 3% up to that standard.
When the city came out of bankruptcy, there were roughly 1,000 employees making under $15 per hour, Duggan said.
"The good news is that the vast majority of city employees already earn more than $15 per hour," Duggan said, per a press release. "Now, because the city is in a position where we can sustain the additional cost of making sure every employee of the city of Detroit is earning a living wage from the moment they are hired."
While the increase is estimated to cost the city about $1.3 million, Duggan says the city is in a good enough place to afford such a price for such valuable employees.
"You think about the folks working the rec center, they're watching our children everyday to make them safe," he said during a press conference Wednesday. "You look at those folks standing out in all weather moving traffic coming out of sporting events or coming out of rush hour. Those folks are really important. They deserve to be treated in this way. You go right down the list of who we've got – the lifeguards, who are saving lives at the public pools. I would say to all these employees, 'I appreciate you sticking with us.'"
Though the proposal still needs approval from Detroit City Council and the unions representing employees would need to make amendments to collective bargaining agreements, Duggan is confident it will get done. Hopefully, he says, by July 1.
"Better wages will uplift families, enable the city to attract and retain better workers, and stimulate the local economy. It's a win for us all. That's why I am honored that Mayor Duggan asked me to sponsor the $15 minimum wage for city of Detroit employees," Councilmember Johnson said.
