Living wage bill wins some, loses some, support

When the City Council held its second hearing on Councilman Oliver Koppell’s living wage bill on Tuesday, both sides had gained supporters, but the living wage bill lost an important one: Councilwoman Inez Dickens. 

The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act — which would require developers that receive taxpayer subsidies to pay workers $10 per hour with benefits or $11.50 without — was originally introduced by Mr. Koppell and his colleague, Councilwoman Annabel Palma, in 2010, in the aftermath of a fight between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. on the development of the Kingsbridge Armory.

After a city council hearing and a round of changes to the bill, the council held a second hearing on Tuesday. 

On Monday night, more than 1,000 supporters of the legislation rallied at Riverside Church in Manhattan, along with elected officials, religious leaders and labor union officials.

Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, read a statement in support of the legislation that was recently issued by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York. 

Proponents of the bill were not the only ones to pick up new notable support. District Council No. 9 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades recently threw its weight behind the bill’s opponents, saying the legislation will make it harder for the city to attract new jobs, according to news reports. Business groups also started running television advertisements about the legislation, saying it will hurt the city’s economy.

Still, neither the Catholic Church, DC 9 or the numerous labor unions and business organizations involved in the issue will get to cast a vote on the bill; Ms. Dickens will.

Ms. Dickens, whose district includes Riverside Church, recently withdrew her support for the bill because of what she says are concerns over how it will affect small businesses, according to her spokesperson Lynette Velasco.

Ms. Velasco said Ms. Dickens “believes in a living wage” but “does not want to drive employers, especially small businesses out of our city.”