SEIU Local 1 Celebrates Passage of Nonprofit Minimum Wage Ordinance Out of Kansas City Finance Committee

KANSAS CITY  - The following is a statement from Kansas City janitor Virginia Vann regarding the ordinance passed out of the Kansas City Finance Committee today which would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for employees of nonprofits receiving at least 25 percent of its funding from the city. Nearly 170 SEIU Local 1 members would be affected by this ordinance:

“Essential workers have been working tirelessly during the COVID-19 crisis, putting our own health at risk in order to keep Kansas City safe and clean. It’s time our pay reflects our essential work.

“SEIU Local 1 members celebrate the passage of the $15 nonprofit minimum wage ordinance that passed out of the Kansas City Council Finance Committee today. By supporting this ordinance, Kansas City leaders send a strong signal to all businesses across our region that front-line essential workers need higher wages to raise our families.

“While the Missouri legislature has taken away our ability to decide our region’s own minimum wage, this initiative comes after the 2017 referendum where Kansas City voters overwhelmingly approved an increase of the minimum wage to $15. The City Council has a responsibility to uphold the spirit of that vote and help support our region’s working families.”

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Service Employees International Union Local 1 unites 50,000 workers throughout the Midwest, including more than 5,000 commercial janitors, higher education faculty, food service workers, state workers in the Division of Probation and Parole, school custodians, patient care professionals, and more in Missouri. Local 1 is committed to improving the lives of its members and all working people by winning real economic justice and standing at the forefront of the fight for immigrant, racial and environmental justice.