Charlotte city’s lowest-paid workers get a pay bump under next year’s proposed budget

Hourly employees for the city of Charlotte could soon see a pay bump as the city works to reduce inequity.

If the current proposed spending plan for next year goes into effect, the minimum wage would increase by a dollar — from $15 to $16.

City Council member Braxton Winston said the proposal shows the city is trying to run business differently by being “an employer of choice instead of (a) last resort.”

In previous years, all city workers received the same raise. If the raise for one year was the standard 3 percent, hourly workers would receive an extra $936 for the next year.

Now, the city is intentionally giving lower-income workers more. If the budget passes, raises for next year would be two-tiered instead of everyone receiving the same percent increase.

All employees making less than $69,333 would receive $2,080 in raises. The adjustment would benefit 3,100 workers by giving them at least a 3.5-percent increase.

Under this system, the city’s 200 lowest-paid workers — who earn $32,686 on average — would receive a 6-percent increase next year.

All employees with salaries of more than $69,333 would receive their usual 3-percent raise under the proposal. These employees will earn at least an additional $2,080 per year.

If the proposal goes into effect, Charlotte would be the only local government body in the area to do raises this way.

The minimum wage for Charlotte government workers increased to $15 an hour two years ago.

Some city workers who would receive the boost praised the proposal at a May 13 City Council meeting, citing the city’s lack of affordability.

Craig Brown, a Charlotte Water employee, endorsed the proposal and said Charlotte’s lack of affordable housing applies to city workers too.

“We have families to support,” he said. “Help retain quality workers by paying us what we deserve.”

Jay Leach is a Charlotte minister and has worked with the Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice, which organizes marches and public events for issues of social and economic justice, since its beginning. He said he thinks the city’s proposal is a step in the right direction.

“We are creating a city where it is harder for people to live here, and it will ultimately be our undoing,” he said. “... We’ve identified that there is severe inequity in Charlotte, so if you imagine that by giving across-the-board raises, what you’re really doing is widening the gulf of inequity.”

Leach said the city can start by “listening to the people who are most deeply impacted by inequities and injustices.”

Winston said the council has heard an overall positive response to the budget, but he recognizes there is more to do.

“There are too many city employees who earn at the lower end of the income spectrum that can’t afford to live in the same city or neighborhoods they serve,” he said.

The council will have a final vote on the budget on June 10, and it will go into effect on July 1.

Charlotte isn’t the only local government body thinking about how to pay its employees next year.

Mecklenburg County is expected to adopt 5.5 percent across-the-board raises for its workers after having increased the hourly wage to $15 from $11.65 in February.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is proposing raising its minimum wage to $13.22 from $11.78 for non-certified employees, which includes custodians, grounds maintenance staff, cafeteria workers and school crossing guards. The state legislature is still determining what raises employees and teachers can expect.

This story was originally published May 29, 2019 at 9:47 AM.