By Collin Reischman
Missouri Times, June 18, 2015
Saint Louis, Mo. — Mayor Francis Slay has kicked off a discussion about the minimum wage and, in doing so, is fighting with state lawmakers in an effort to move the City of Saint Louis toward a higher minimum wage. It may be a debate before the city’s Board of Alderman, but with state lawmakers sending a bill — HB 722 — to the governor just weeks ago that explicitly prohibits any city from raising the minimum wage past the state rate, the battle lines are clearly drawn.
Slay’s plan, in a proposal formally offered by Alderman Shane Cohn, would immediately raise the local minimum wage to $10 an hour, implementing annual increases until it arrives at $15 an hour in 2020. After that, the rate is tied to inflation.
By the end of the first meeting a few things were clear. First, Slay’s figures are not set in the stone. Second, Slay has tremendous vocal support from rank-and-file low wage workers and their allies. The longtime mayor is not known as hardheaded, and there are already whispers of a compromise that would still give workers a raise, but that might not reach the levels of the plan officially unveiled earlier this month. ...
Chris Sommers owns Pi Pizzeria, a St. Louis favorite with three locations in city’s central corridor. In 2014, Sommers made headlines when he decided after an “exhaustive” analysis that he could afford to increase his worker’s wages. Sommers announced a minimum wage of $10.10 an hour while, at the time, the minimum wage was $7.50.
With the populist support of local Democrats, Slay has easily rallied local elected officials to the cause as well. Some are St. Louis Democratic state Senators Jamilah Nasheed and Joseph Keaveny, who have both spoken against HB 722 and have frequently argued for a minimum wage increase. ...
As Slay and his allies continue the push for a new minimum wage, it’s becoming abundantly clear for St. Louis workers that the question is not whether the wage will go up, but by how much?
Copyright 2015 Missouri Times