San Diego City Council budget committee says the city is not enforcing its own Living Wage Ordinance. City Council members say upholding the ordinance is especially important because, in the future, the city plans to outsource more jobs and services to the private sector. KPBS reporter, Alison St John has the story.
San Diego’s Living Wage Ordinance was a landmark piece of legislation for working families in the city when it passed in 2005. It required private companies contracted to work at city owned properties like Qualcomm and Petco Park to pay at least $12 an hour - or $10 plus health insurance. But since then evidence is mounting that some city sub contractors are violating the law on a regular basis.
Councilwoman Donna Frye says it’s not surprising, since only one person is assigned to enforce it, and its only a half-time position.
Frye: So that gives us a key, how important it is? Not very. And that’s the problem
There have been only two complaints of underpayment so far. One case is in court and the other is under investigation. But Kenneth Wells, one of those who complained, told the city’s budget committee that he lost his job as a result.
Wells: So please give me my job back cause I did nothing wrong. All I did was ask questions, that’s all I did -- ask a few questions and that got me terminated.
Few people speak out for fear of being fired. But San Diego’s Interfaith Council for Worker Justice has collected stories from workers being paid well below what the Living Wage ordinance requires, with no health insurance.
Natalie Nava told the story of a father of five who has worked cleaning city libraries for the contractor Jani King as a janitor for the past four years.
Nava: He says his wife constantly fears him being fired for something as simple as calling in sick, so he never misses a day regardless of how sick he feels, When we let him know that he has the right to 10 days time off, he said no one from Jani King informed him. He was shocked to find out that a pay of about $10 dollars an hour Jani King was supposed to provide health insurance .
Companies that are complying with the Living Wage Ordinance say those who don’t undercut them. Gus Kontopuls is chairman of Elite Show Services that provides workers at Chargers and Padres games. He says his company is glad to pay a living wage.
Kontopuls: Unfortunately many other companies have not, many of these companies are from out of town and the word we’re getting is that its unconstitutional, its unenforceable. No one’s enforcing it so why should we follow it. Their rates are nearly 40 percent less than ours are because we’re paying nearly $13 an hour and most of them are paying close to minimum wage.
Councilwoman Toni Atkins says the issue goes to the heart of how the city will relate to its subcontractors when managed competition ramps up. Managed competition is designed to give the private sector a chance to bid for contracts against city employees.
Atkins: And frankly if we are not currently able to keep up with what we have in terms of contracting, how are we going to ramp up? I think that needs to be part of the mayor’s proposal and we address the cost of ding a managed competition program.
Atkins is concerned that outsourcing will result in more jobs that pay wages so low it will be virtually impossible to survive in San Diego. So far, the mayor’s office has agreed to provide one more half time person to enforce the city’s Living Wage Ordinance.
Alison St John, KPBS News.
