Asheville City Council update: It Lives!

Posted on by Brian Postelle

Asheville City Council on May 22 approved a living wage — calculated by the local Asheville/Buncombe Living Wage Campaign as $10.86 per hour for employees without health-insurance benefits or $9.50 an hour for those with benefits — for all of the city’s full- and part-time employees.

The rub you ask?

The city already pays the $9.50 figure, and all of its employees are insured. (The policy and salary do not apply to those who work in seasonal or temp positions.)

Council did not, however, find a majority vote to approve an annual 2.2 percent wage increase to keep up with inflation, despite the efforts of Vice Mayor Holly Jones and Council members Brownie Newman and Robin Cape, who voted for the measure.
In the meantime, city staff will look at the possibility of giving extra preference to outside contractors who pay the local living wage.

— Brian Postelle, staff writer

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2 thoughts on “Asheville City Council update: It Lives!”

  1. Natalie Rice

    which employees? those that do city gov work oor those who work in the city limits @ privite business/establishments

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