11/12/2014
The Board of Commissioners of the Public Building Commission (PBC) today approved a resolution that will require its contractors and subcontractors to pay their employees a $13-an-hour minimum wage, following Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s lead on raising wages for employees of city contractors.
“We are pleased to adopt Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s executive order on raising the minimum wage so that we can provide greater economic opportunity for employees of PBC contractors and subcontractors,” Erin Lavin Cabonargi, executive director of the Public Building Commission, said, following the vote by the PBC board at its monthly meeting.
The requirements will take effect immediately, and the PBC will work with its contractors affected by the new requirement so that it is included in all future contract language, including contracts for security and custodial staff. The PBC also will promote the new minimum wage requirements in all of its procurement outreach efforts, on its website www.pbcchicago.com and through “PBC Alerts” that offer updates on PBC business opportunities.
The PBC joins other city agencies in adopting the minimum wage requirement, following the Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago Housing Authority, both of which announced the move in October. The Chicago Park District also announced last week it would adopt the new requirements.
Mayor Emanuel issued the Executive Order on September 3, 2014 that raises the minimum wage for Chicago workers to $13.00 per hour by 2018. The order requires City contractors and subcontractors to pay employees a minimum wage of $13 per hour and applies to all service contracts, including construction contracts, advertised after October 1, 2014. The hourly wage will be indexed to inflation and increase proportionally on a yearly basis thereafter.