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Committee forwards resolution asking CAO to study requiring city contractors to pay $20 minimum wage
Summary
After public comment from SEIU 32BJ and discussion among councilmembers, the committee forwarded a resolution asking the Chief Administrative Officer to study operational and fiscal implications of requiring janitorial and security contractors to pay the city's $20 hourly minimum and return recommendations by Nov. 1, 2025.
The Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee voted to forward Resolution 20 25 R019, which asks the Chief Administrative Officer to study fiscal, operational and other considerations associated with requiring janitorial and security contractors under city contract to pay the city’s $20-per-hour minimum wage, and to return recommendations to council by Nov. 1, 2025.
Public comment and concerns: Tremaine Johnson, lead organizer with SEIU 32BJ, spoke in support of immediate ordinance action rather than a study, saying a study risks unnecessary delay and urging council to pass a living-wage ordinance this summer. Johnson said union analysis shows raising wages for contracted janitors and security guards would cost less than 0.05% of the city’s budget and that delay “withholds long overdue life changing wages.”
Council discussion and clarifications: Councilmembers and staff acknowledged the urgency raised by public comment. Committee members stressed the resolution’s intent is to gather a fiscal estimate and implementation options that will allow the council to budget any required funds in the next fiscal cycle. Committee members also discussed procurement timing for relevant contracts (noting some security contracts are under review in July) and suggested staff consider procurement tools (shorter contract durations, procurement scoring that favors responsible contractors or unionized labor) as part of the study. The chair stressed that the council expects the study to produce cost estimates, options for implementation, and potential procurement changes so the council can act with sufficient information.
Vote and next steps: The committee voted to forward the resolution to City Council with a recommendation to approve. The resolution requests the CAO return a report by Nov. 1, 2025; committee members indicated they expect the study to include counts of contracted positions, current wage rates, differential costs at the $20 minimum, procurement options and timelines so any budget actions can be scheduled in the mayor’s next budget submission.
What the record does not show: The transcript captures the committee’s request for a study and the public comment urging immediate ordinance action, but it does not include the CAO’s analysis or any final fiscal figures; the resolution as adopted by committee is for a study and not a wage ordinance.
