[Livingwage] Saturday meeting

[Belden Fields]

I am sorry that I will not be able to attend the meeting on  
Saturday.  The one agenda item I would suggest, aside from 3rd party  
candidates, is the proposal at the County Board Facilities Committee  
to offer new hires in those position that were below Living Wage  
before the policy took effect, lower than Living Wage wages.  They  
would be based on a
family of 3 rather than 4.  Jen Kern of ACORN told me that there were  
such Living Wage policies in existence, but Deb Busey, Administrator  
for the Coubnty Board, checked on the Economic Policy Institute  
website and found that as of 2001 or 2, both St. Louis and Milwaukee  
had such policies.
That is out of over a hundred govt units with LW policies.  Whatever  
they have I don't see how the county in good conscience can hire  
people fora under $20,000/yr. which is what the 2.69 hourly for a  
family of 4 comes to,
In other words, we need to fight this and to make it clear that if  
they want to pass another referendum, it cannot be ont he backs of  
the lowest paid workers.
Belden