We urge the Village Board of Skokie to vote NO on the "Resolution Establishing the State of Illinois' Sole Authority on Employee Welfare and Rights." This Resolution would remove minimum wage protections for Skokie workers that have been in place for the last two years. 

Unbeknownst to most Skokie voters, on Monday night, May 20, 2019 the Skokie Village Board had planned to vote on a resolution that would remove minimum wage protections for Skokie workers that have been in place for the last two years.  Dozens of Skokie residents and local leaders gathered at short notice to object and urged the board not to pass this resolution until the community had more time to understand why this sudden reversal.  The board then moved to take a final vote on the resolution on Monday, June 3rd.

This petition is going directly to the email address of Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen.

Petition Text:

Dear Mayor Van Dusen and the Skokie Village Board:

We urge you to vote NO on the "Resolution Establishing the State of Illinois' Sole Authority on Employee Welfare and Rights." This Resolution would remove minimum wage protections for Skokie workers that have been in place for the last two years. 

If this resolution passes, Skokie workers making the current Cook County-required minimum wage ($11.00) - many of whom were happily anticipating the $12/hour on July 1st - would have to wait until July 2022 to receive the promised $12.00. There are Skokie families for whom this will mean serious financial hardship. 

Don't backtrack on Skokie's opt-in to the Cook County minimum wage ordinance. Stay the course. 

Sincerely,

Skokie Stakeholder **Petition Signers: Please identify yourself as a concerned resident of Skokie/ Hourly wage worker in Skokie/ member of a religious congregation in Skokie/ Business owner in Skokie/ Other Skokie connection

Background: 

Skokie workers are now receiving $11/hour and up to 5 earned sick days/year - and scheduled to receive $12/hour on July 1st – topping off at $13/hour on July 1, 2020. 

The Village Board of Skokie seeks to relieve Skokie employers from their obligation to comply with the county stipulated $11/hour --- and, instead, free up employers to comply with recently passed state standards ($9.25/hour).  Despite the legal language in the resolution - there appears to be very thin legal grounds for Skokie to make this change. 

While the state’s minimum wage will eventually rise to $15 (in 2025), it is currently much, much lower ($9.25 on Jan 1, 2020) than the county stipulated wage ($12 on July 1st).  If this resolution passes, Skokie workers making the current county required minimum wage ($11.00) - many of whom were happily anticipating the $12/hour on July 1st - would have to wait until 2022 to receive the promised $12.00. 

A popular (yet inaccurate) argument is that increasing the minimum wage threatens businesses by either making it difficult to sustain or discourages them from moving into our village. Yet, study after study has demonstrated that there is "little to no impact of minimum wage laws on employment or hours. In their meta-analysis of 64 studies." Professors Dale Belman of Michigan State University and Paul Wolfson of Dartmouth College report that "a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage is statistically associated with a small 0.2 and 0.6 percent drop in employment or hours…[these changes] are too small… to have meaningful consequences in the dynamically changing labor markets of the United States."

At the May 20th meeting, Debra Shore, Commissioner of the Water Reclamation District, read a letter objecting to the resolution on behalf of the following leaders:
• U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
• State Senator Ram Villivalam
• State Senator Laura Fine
• State Representative Yehiel Mark Kalish
• State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz
• MWRDGC Commissioner Josina Morita
• MWRDGC Commissioner Debra Shore
• Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin
• Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Mike Cabonargi

Former gubernatorial candidate and state senator Daniel Biss made a passionate statement - and dozens of Skokie residents also objected strongly. You can view the meeting here and hear Biss’s statement at 1:13:30 https://youtu.be/toB9n-M6jIM

At the end of the meeting, Trustee Randy Roberts proposed that the vote be postponed. It is scheduled for a vote on Monday, June 3, 8pm.

Concerns: While the potential of workers losing up to $3/hour in wages is distressing enough, equally distressing was the lack of due process and what it suggests about the openness and responsiveness of our local government to what we say we need.

Failure to Listen to Voters: In November 2018 on the Skokie election ballot, voters faced the following non-binding poll which gained overwhelmingly positive support:
1. Shall the minimum wage in your municipality (city/village) match the $13 per hour Cook County minimum wage law for adults over the age of 18 by July 1, 2020, and be indexed to the consumer price index after that? 80% voted YES.
2. Shall your municipality (city/village) match the Cook County earned sick time law which allows for workers to earn up to 40 hours (5 days) of sick time a year to take care of their own health or a family member’s health? 86% voted YES.

Lack of Transparency: Given the tremendous amount of public interest when the county ordinance was first considered in 2017 (with packed rooms of people for the three readings of the county ordinance) AND given the fact that voters emphatically supported a rise in wages – it’s curious that the village made very little effort to announce this change in a policy that was important to so many - beyond the legally required posting of the agenda on the village website the Thursday prior to this Monday meeting. Moreover, the Resolution's title, “A Resolution Establishing the State of Illinois’ Sole Authority on Employee Welfare and Rights” – and its description on the agenda sandwiched between two non-controversial items – in no way indicated the gravity of this resolution’s consequences for both the voters – and for working class families! 

Next Steps for Skokie Residents, Workers, and Other Stakeholders: At this time, it is feared that the resolution will pass on June 3. Your phone calls and e-mails are essential in holding our government officials responsible for listening to voters – and for meeting the needs of those who live and work in the community - especially the low wage workers who serve us daily. In addition to signing this petition, which is addressed to the Mayor, please directly:

• Contact the Mayor, George Van Dusen, and the Corporation Counsel, Michael Lorge.
• Contact Skokie Village Board Members: Click here for their contact information.
• Attend June 3rd Board Meeting at Village Hall, 7:30 pre-meeting gathering, 8pm meeting.
• Talk to your neighbors and workers and business owners in our area….Do they know about this sudden reversal in policy? How do they feel about it?…..Urge others who are deeply troubled by these sudden policy changes to attend the June 3rd Board Meeting at Village Hall and share their stories. Perhaps you know Skokie families for whom this will mean serious financial hardship.

**Petition Signers: Please identify yourself as a concerned resident of Skokie/ Hourly wage worker in Skokie/ member of a religious congregation in Skokie/ Business owner in Skokie/ Other Skokie connection