“As existing neighborhoods with Asheville’s iconic tree canopy and low population density became saturated — more crowded, hotter, busier and therefore less desirable — property values would definitely drop, diminishing, as Paul wrote, the “pricing power that landowners wield,” but not before developers had made some significant pocket change.”
“As other Asheville firefighters have done, many of them will have to find higher-paying jobs in their chosen craft in another community or make a complete career switch.”
The Council chambers and overflow room were at capacity during the Tuesday night meeting where all of the speakers who commented on the proposed budget advocated for increasing pay for city employees.
Less than one-fourth of Asheville hospitality workers in a recent survey have paid sick leave, and 85% have gone to work sick.
“The local housing crisis is dire and certainly deserves front-page coverage, but it continues a trend of treating police officers differently than other people.”
Roughly 86% of Asheville Police officers live outside of the city limits, according to Asheville Police Department spokesman Samantha Booth.
According to Just Economics of Western North Carolina, which has been calculating the local living wage since 2008, a single person working full time in Buncombe County needs to make $22.10 per hour to afford basic expenses. That’s a $2 hike over last year’s rate and more than double what it was when it was first calculated 17 years ago.
The Asheville City Board of Education approved budget recommendations that include a 7% increase to each pay level for certified staff, which include teachers, and starting pay for all hourly employees, including bus drivers and custodial workers, to $20 per hour.
Under the new system, similar to that employed by the national Living Wage For Us campaign, businesses could remain in the Living Wage Program if they agreed to an $18 hourly minimum wage and “committed annual increases” toward a $20.10 wage rate.
As the minutes ticked past 5 p.m. on June 1, a crowd of about 50 Moog employees and their supporters gathered in the outdoor area of nearby Archetype Brewing North with banners and signs. The occasion: the launch of a campaign for Moog workers to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 238.
“Should they have to work two-three jobs, get food assistance and other financial help, or should the county pay them the going rate? “
“Hurrah for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners!”
“This majority is struggling as much or more than Buncombe County employees, but instead of getting a raise, they get to collectively pay $5.1 million in taxes in addition to what they are already paying.”
“Every increase is helpful, but the people crunching the numbers must not be living the hourly experience, as they truly don’t seem to understand what it costs to live, even modestly, as a renter in our region.”
The move comes after a two-year long examination of employee compensation across 16 other government agencies comparable to Buncombe County.
“Now that I’ve moved to Greensboro, a three-hour drive away, I’m saving $300 a month in rent for where I am now.”
Just Economics of Western North Carolina updated its hourly living wage for all Buncombe County employees to $17.70 in January, a 40-cent increase over the 2021 living wage for employees without employer-provided health insurance — and a $1.90 hourly raise for those with insurance.
Many issues are close to Vicki Meath’s heart. She has spent her life in community organizing, working on environmental justice with Western Colorado Congress and striving to raise Ohio’s minimum wage with Cleveland Jobs With Justice. In 2010, she joined Just Economics of Western North Carolina, a nonprofit that advocates for a living wage, as […]
“If the ratio of wages to housing cost doesn’t get under control for the creative working schlubs of this town, we will all have to go.”
“The argument was made that if we put conditions in the incentive contracts, a company may not sign. What then is our incentive to give them our money?”
