By David Freedlander 5/12/11 5:40pm

Living Wage

Living Wage Fight Comes to City Hall

The next great battle in City Hall was joined today as the City Council held their inaugural hearing on The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, which would require all businesses that receive city subsidies pay at least $10 per hour, with benefits, to all of their employees.

Members of the Council grilled Tokumbo Shobowale, the chief of staff for Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert Steel, who defended a study released yesterday by the Economic Development Corporation that said the bill would put a stranglehold on the city’s economy and hurt job growth. Read More

By Azi Paybarah 5/11/11 12:48pm

Statements

photo credit: Citizens Union of the City of New York

City Hall Trying to ‘Sabotage’ Council Hearing With Early Report

A City Councilman The Progressive Caucus of the New York City Council says the mayor’s administration is trying to “sabotage” a long-awaited Council hearing tomorrow about a controversial bill requiring a “living wage” for workers at projects that get public subsidies.

Councilman Brad Lander of Brooklyn The caucus said the Economic Development Corporation’s decision to release only the executive summary of their report late Monday night is “very suspicious timing.”

“This release came just a few days before a City Council hearing on the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, legislation that the study was clearly designed to discredit,” said Lander the Caucus said in a statement, released by Councilman Brad Lander’s office. “The full study won’t even be released until this summer but the EDC couldn’t wait to try to sabotage the Council hearing and cast doubt on legislation that thousands of New Yorkers support.”