Maryland First State to Pass Living Wage

by James Parks, Apr 9, 2007

Maryland today became the first state to require contractors to pay workers a living wage, the fruit of a months-long coalition campaign that included union members, religious leaders and civil rights advocates.

On its last day in session, the Maryland Senate voted, 31–16, to approve the measure, which was passed by the state House last week. Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), who campaigned for the legislation, has promised to sign the bill.

The new law will require service contractors doing business with the state to pay employees $11.30 an hour in urban areas and $8.50 an hour in rural areas. The state’s minimum wage is $6.15 an hour.

The final vote is another step toward lifting thousands of Maryland workers out of poverty, says Fred Mason, president of the Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO.

This vote is important for all workers. The union movement is the voice for all workers. We look out for workers, whether they are union members or not. And we don’t think the state should ever have been in the business of creating poverty-level jobs.

Maryland lawmakers passed a living-wage bill in 2004, but it was vetoed by then-Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R). The same year, legislators raised the state’s minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.15 an hour.

This year, O’Malley called upon lawmakers to pass a statewide living wage during his State of the State address. Recently, cities and counties across the country have voted to pay workers a living wage. Read about living wage campaigns in Greater Boston, Memphis, Chicago and on college campuses.

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