Proposal Could Raise Cleveland's Minimum Wage to $15

Cleveland Clerk of Council has notified the group Raise Up Cleveland that legislative proceedings can begin to raise the minimum wage in Cleveland according to a news release.

Raise Up Cleveland is a group supported by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The group surpassed the 5,000 signature requirement and presented the Council Clerk with 28,782 petition signatures proposing an ordinance which would raise Cleveland's minimum wage to $15 an hour. The proposed ordinance would only include the City of Cleveland

SEIU also submitted an “itemized statement of the circulators,” which details the cost of the petition drive. Some of the costs incurred include $51,000 toward 149 circulators, thousands of dollars on a specialized phone system, transportation, a staff lawyer and other union staff involved in the drive.

The proposed legislation will be considered at the next council meeting on Monday, May 16th at 7pm.

Once introduced, the proposed legislation Workforce and Community Benefits Committee which will hold public hearings on the issue.

City Council has the option of adopting the proposed legislation, rejecting it, or adopting it in a different form.

If the petitioners are not satisfied with Council’s legislation they can require the original legislative proposal to be put on the ballot for voters in November.