Wal-Mart issue resurfaces with living wage ordinance, plan commission vote

Wal-Mart issue resurfaces with living wage ordinance, plan commission vote

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/04/wal-mart-aldermen-chicago.html

The long-running Wal-Mart issue is resurfacing this week in Chicago, with an alderman once again pushing a living wage ordinance and a city panel set to consider a new store on the Far South Side.

Ald. Freddrenna Lyle, 6th, today proposed an ordinance that would require many large retailers to pay a “living wage” of $11.03-an-hour --- a measure supported by unions who oppose more Wal-Marts within city limits.
On Thursday, the Chicago Plan Commission is slated to consider a large-scale development on the far South Side that includes homes and stores, anchored by Wal-Mart. That project is backed by Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th.

The jousting over the so-called living wage and whether to allow the Wal-Mart resurrects a political battle that took place four years ago, leaving the city with just one Wal-Mart in the Austin Neighborhood on the far West Side.

In 2006, pro-union aldermen passed a living-wage ordinance affecting so-called big-box stores, including Wal-Mart. Mayor Richard Daley vetoed the ordinance, setting up an electoral battle in 2007, when unions successfully backed several aldermanic candidates.

Although Daley’s administration has the right to sanction new Wal-Marts in some areas, it has refrained from doing so. The mayor has said he wants a majority of aldermen to sign off on the stores. But unions say they do not pay enough, and aldermen haven’t approved new ones.

The new proposal, so far backed by Lyle and 17 of her colleagues, would require businesses with 50 or more employees that receive $250,000 or more in direct or indirect city financial assistance to pay wages of at least $11.03-an-hour.

"That is what we have calculated to be a reasonable wage for a person's labor, and we're saying if you get a city benefit -- if you get TIF funding, if you get land write downs -- if you get anything from the city to bring your development in, then your response should be to pay the residents of the city of Chicago a living wage," Lyle said.

Beale, meanwhile, says he believes he has sufficient backing to win approval for a 270-acre project in the Pullman Park neighborhood that includes the Wal-Mart and other large stores.

“It’s a solid plan that’s going to bring jobs and revenue to the city of Chicago,” he said. “This is badly needed for the city of Chicago. More than anything, it’s needed for the South Side, to address the food dessert.

“You know, we still don’t have access to fresh produce. We still don’t have access to quality groceries, so that will address all these issues, and it will bring jobs into the community.”

The project would create nearly 4,000 jobs once it’s complete in 12 years, including nearly 700 at Wal-Mart, Beale said. Meanwhile, all of the construction jobs would be given to union members, he said.

The development also would include restaurants and 800 homes, he said. “We’re not just talking about Wal-Mart,” he added. “We’re talking about a large development.”

Even if the plan commission recommends approval of the Wal-Mart development, both the council's Zoning Committee and the council itself would have to sign off. And it's unclear whether aldermen want to run for re-election in February with the Wal-Mart issue as a major backdrop. In 2007, the unions helped several challengers defeat or mount tough campaigns against sitting aldermen.