Here's a video from Living Wage NYC, the advocates for the living wage. They're holding a rally Monday, Nov. 21 at the Riverside Church in Manhattan, and then going to the City Council hearing on the bill the following day (details of the meetings are at the end of the video).
The bill would require companies that receive over $1 million in city subsidies to provide a living wage to their employees. A living wage is $10/hr with benefits or $11.50 without. The living wage battle hit the spotlight when the City Council nixed a deal that would have put a shopping center in the Kingsbridge Armory. The developer refused to agree to the living wage mandate, which would have also required their tenants (the stores) to pay a living wage as well.
The main sponsors of the bill are Bronx City Council members G. Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma. They have drastically changed the bill over the last year to appease opponents of the living wage but there is still much debate over the bill. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has yet to take a position on the bill and put off holding a hearing about the issue for months. She has, in the past, held hearings about controversial issues and then refused to bring them to a vote.
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