Thanks to the MCDA for posting a link to a recent press release on the status of efforts under Minneapolis' Living Wage Policy (I wasn't able to find the press release under the posted link, but I did find it through MCDA's own site):
http://www.mcda.org/whats_new/Newsreleases/jobsreport.htm That press release points to a report detailing those efforts that was submitted to the City Council this year. That report can be found at: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/2002-meetings/20020726/docs/12-2001-Employment-Status.pdf (You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open it). I am posting because, after reading both items, I have a few questions. 1. It appears that Minneapolis is the national leader in terms of effective municipal living wage promotion efforts. Does anyone remember how the initial policy came into being in 1997 (who was for it, who was against it, what outside groups lobbied for and against, etc.)? It also appears to have been modified in February 2001 to comply with a state law on business subsidies. Why was that necessary? Is there anyone out there who could post a link to the actual ordinance? Minneapolis might be in a position to serve as a model for other cities, so such information could prove useful. After all, Minneapolis has led the way in the past on social justice issues. In the 1940s, under then-mayor Hubert H. Humphrey, Minneapolis was the first city in the nation to enact an enforceable Fair Employment Practices ordinance. 2. There are two different programs under the city's living wage policy: a voluntary Job Linkage Agreement (with 41 participating companies) and a mandatory, subsidy-linked, program (with 6 participating companies). I can understand the business subsidy program but I'm curious about how the voluntary program works? What incentive is there for businesses to enter into a Job Linkage Agreement? Why are the participating businesses (apparently) following through? Is MCDA or the city marketing this program to businesses and, if so, how? 3. The Job Linkage Agreements involve partnerships between businesses and Neighborhood Workforce Development organizations. Who/what are these workforce development organizations? Where do they get their funding? 4. The report is kind of dry and statistic-heavy (as I'm sure it needed to be). Is anyone on this list personally familiar with the workings of these programs? Does anybody know how the businesses involved (or their living-wage employees for that matter) perceive it? Anecdotal information could breathe a little life into this. At first glance, this looks like a successful local government program that involves voluntary public-private partnerships. As such, it seems worthy of a lot more attention than it seems to be getting. Thanks, Paul C. Rohlfing - temporarily in Bethesda, Maryland (formerly Linden Hills and Lyndale) [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________________________ Join the world�s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
