Allegheny County Council passes minimum wage hike for county workers

Some Allegheny County employees could see a wage increase thanks to a new minimum age wage bill that passed Tuesday evening.

Allegheny County Council voted 10-4 to pass a bill that would set $20 an hour as the minimum wage for county workers by 2026. There would be incremental increases to $18 an hour next year and to $19 an hour in 2025.

The bill faces likely opposition from Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, but the 10 votes would be enough to override a veto, if the same members were to hold the line.

Fitzgerald’s spokesperson said the office did not have a comment on the bill Tuesday night.

Several council members spoke out in favor of the increase during council’s meeting Tuesday evening at the Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh.

Vote Breakdown on Allegheny County worker min wage bill

Bennett - yes
Betkowski - yes
DeMarco - no
Duerr - yes
Filiaggie - absent
Futules - no
Hallam - yes
Klein - yes
Macey - no
Naccarati-Chapkis - yes
Palmiere - yes
Palmosina - yes
Prizio - yes
Walton - no
Catena - yes

— Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) June 6, 2023

Councilwoman Liv Bennett, D-North Side, said she has recently experienced low wages and that it’s not uncommon for other Black women in Allegheny County to live under a minimum wage. County council members are part-time positions that receive a stipend of about $10,000 a year.

“If we want a fair shot at people being able to live in the county, and not put the burden on the backs of Black women, we should be voting for this,” Bennett said.

Councilman Paul Klein, D-Shadyside, said it shouldn’t be expected that public sector employees should take a vow of poverty to work for Allegheny County. He said the bill will help the county compete with the private sector, help to retain and attract more workers to fill many of the county’s unfilled positions.

Klein said the wage increase is a modest one, but it’s important to acknowledge that “pay equity does matter.”

Fitzgerald said last month that all full-time employees in county government will make at least $18 an hour by the start of next year.

Lead to a tax hike?

Councilman Sam DeMarco, R-North Fayette, voted against the bill. He echoed some of the arguments that Fitzgerald has made against the bill.

He said the bill would lead to a tax increase, citing Fitzgerald’s assessment that the minimum wage increase would cost taxpayers $30 million. The county’s operating budget last year was about $1 billion.

DeMarco also said that raising the minimum wage would impact the county’s ability to pay for pensions and could increase health insurance payments for employees.

“We can’t just wave a wand and say we are going to give you this without taking it away from someone else,” DeMarco said.

Legality questioned

The Allegheny County solicitor and the county council’s solicitor have issues diverging opinions on the minimum wage bill. The county solicitor’s opinion said county council does not have the legal authority to install a minimum wage, while the county council solicitor’s opinion said the body does have the authority.

Allegheny County Councilwoman at-large Bethany Hallam, D-Brighton Heights, voted for the bill, and she pushed back against the arguments against the minimum wage increase.

She said the county’s administrative code gives council the responsibility over the county’s personnel system.

“That is our job; we are legislators,” said Hallam. “It’s our duty to legislate in the best interests of all residents of Allegheny County. Let’s raise the wage.”

She also pushed back on the notion the wage increase would raise taxes, saying council can balance the budget without having to keep county workers’ wages low.

In the past, Fitzgerald said a minimum wage increase would inhibit bargaining with labor unions.

Council President Pat Catena, D-Carnegie, disagreed. He said if that was the case, then any government-mandated minimum wage law would be illegal. He also said that Fitzgerald, himself, supported a minimum wage increase back in 2001, when he was on county council.

Representatives from the Allegheny County Prison Employees Independent Union and the Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council spoke at the council meeting to support the minimum wage increase. They said that a minimum wage increase would not inhibit their ability to collectively bargain with the county.

Catena said some of the county positions’ pay was on par with workers’ regional convenience store chain Sheetz, and that increasing the wage was needed to attract more talent to Allegheny County jobs.

“If we are only barely competitive with convenience stores, then we are not giving people enough incentive to fill these roles,” he said.