POLL: The City's Living Wage Bills

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday that if the City Council overrides his veto of their living wage bills, he would fight it in court.

His warning comes after he vetoed legislation known as the “prevailing-wage bill,” that would raise the hourly rates of between 35 and 45 percent for security guards, janitors and other service workers at approximately 41 buildings that receive government subsidies or where the city rents out significant space, according to the Daily News.

The increase would be determined by the city Comptroller’s prevailing-wage scale, which currently sets salaries for repairmen and cleaners at large office buildings at $24.74 an hour, or $50,000 a year, The Daily News reported.

He has also threatened to veto what has become known as the “living-wage bill,” which would increase pay to $11.50 per hour, or $10 with benefits, for employees of businesses that get $1 million or more in city subsidies, the News reports. That bill is expected to be voted on Monday.

Currently the state minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

Bloomberg argues that raising the wages would drive businesses out of the city, while City Council Speaker Christine Quinn countered that it’s the city’s responsibility to “make sure that whenever possible, those jobs pay enough to support a family and join the middle class,” according to the Daily News.

What do you think? Are you in favor of the proposed bills?