Metro councilwoman tackles living wage, condemns state legislation

Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 12:02pm
By Nate Rau

At-large Councilwoman Megan Barry has filed a memorializing resolution that states Metro Council opposes the state legislation that would preempt local governments from passing living wage laws.

The nonbinding memorializing resolution will be heard at Tuesday’s Council meeting.

The resolution has 17 co-sponsors, Barry said, and comes in advance of her plans to file legislation related to applying living wage laws in Davidson County.

Vanderbilt Divinity professor Dr. Melissa Snarr released a study last year that said the living wage in Nashville should be $10.35. Barry said there are some Metro employees who don’t earn the recommended living wage.

The federal minimum wage is $6.55, which is $8,000 below the poverty level for a family of four, according to Barry’s resolution.

Local governments would lose the power to institute a living wage if the state legislation, sponsored by Sen. Paul Stanley passed.

Already 140 local governments have passed living wage laws, including Shelby County and Memphis.

4 Comments on this post:

By: JeffF on 4/16/09 at 3:12

Must be tough having your socialist issue taken from you before you have a chance to force it on the unwilling.

By: house_of_pain on 4/17/09 at 8:06

The "living wage" removes value from certifications and technical training.

By: Anna3 on 4/17/09 at 1:29

Megan Berry...another Socialist hard at work!

By: Don Smith on 4/17/09 at 3:12

We did not have the degree of the socialist mentality that we now have until Barack Hussein Obama was elected president. It is now apparent that this socialist mentality has infiltrated the metro council by the "living wage" resolution. Someone on the council needs fortitude to publicly denounce this resolution.

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