Earlier this month, the local nonprofit Orange County Living Wage hit a major milestone: it officially certified its 100th “living wage” employer.
Orange County Living Wage was founded in August 2015, less than a year and a half ago. Its mission: to promote higher wages in the local community by recognizing and rewarding employers who pledge to pay their employees a living wage. (The “living wage” varies from city to city and year to year – it’s calculated based on the cost of living in each particular community. In Orange County in 2017, the “living wage” is $13.15 per hour, or $11.65 per hour plus health benefits.)
Coastal Credit Union in Carrboro became OCLW’s 100th certified living-wage employer in early January. Since then, OCLW has already certified seven more businesses and counting. (Employers have pledged to raise wages by a total of over $500,000 annually in order to achieve certification.)
Creighton Blackwell of Coastal Credit Union and OCLW chair Susan Romaine joined Aaron Keck on WCHL.
Orange County Living Wage is one of a growing number of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that are pushing for higher wages without calling for new minimum-wage laws. (Such laws are rare, at least around here: neither the U.S. Congress nor the state of North Carolina has raised the minimum wage since 2009, and North Carolina’s cities and counties are barred from raising local minimums.) The issue is a growing one: as the service industry takes over a greater share of the nation’s economy, more and more American workers are trying to make ends meet on jobs that pay less than a living wage.
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