BROWARD COUNTY, FL - Broward County Commissioners favor expansion of the County's current living wage ordinance to include all contracted service employees working at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport. Currently an estimated 1,200 workers employed by airline contractors are exempt from the existing living wage ordinance.  Many are either earning minimum wage or less for employees who receive tips from the general public.  The airlines retain outside contractors for services such as skycaps, porter services, wheelchair attendants, aircraft cleaners, and other airline related jobs.   

"There are so many people in Broward County who every single day wake up and they try to figure out how are they going to feed their families, how are they going to make ends meet.  They sometimes have to decide between buying medicine for their children and skipping a meal.  That's not what people should have to do," said Vice Mayor Martin David Kiar who introduced the issue. 

Living wage under the Broward County ordinance is $11.68 per hour if health benefits are included or $13.20 per hour without health benefits.  Broward County's current ordinance generally applies to companies with county contracts, but does not apply to airline service contractors.  The current minimum wage in Florida is $8.05 an hour.  

"This is about fairness.  It's about giving fair reward for one's labor.  It builds and strengthens our community when we have people who are able to sustain themselves and their families," said Commissioner Dale V.C. Holness. 

"We just invested one billion dollars in the airport.  We did not invest a billion dollars in the airport to create low wage jobs.  We invested a billion dollars to make sure that we brought prosperity to this county, to the people that work at that airport," said Commissioner Beam Furr. "We should be thinking in terms of human capital because those are the most precious and most important capital expenditures that those airlines will be making and that this county will be making."

"I've learned that there are twelve hundred workers at the airport making between five to eight dollars an hour.  I think it's despicable and I think it's discriminatory," said Commissioner Mark Bogen.  "I want the County Attorney to draft an ordinance that would require all contracts that we enter into from this day forward, all contracts that we renew from this day forward, all leases that we enter into or renew from this day forward to require that all workers regardless of how many hours they work will be paid a living wage."

"These people are the first faces who greet our twenty-five million people at the airport.  It's very important that, as other commissioners have said, we treat everyone respectably and we treat everyone fairly. I care about people desperately getting to the point where they can live comfortably and build a better future for their children," said Commissioner Chip LaMarca. 

Commissioners additionally asked for a study to determine the impact of expanding the living wage ordinance in order to better address any possible legal challenges.  Currently, state and federal laws place numerous limitations on a County's ability to regulate wages. 

"I'm really angry at what we have tolerated all of these years but I also want us to prevail and it's important that we be successful," said Commissioner Lois Wexler. 

"We need to, with great care, draft any kind of an ordinance that will expand the living wage ensuring  that it will withstand judicial scrutiny," noted Mayor Tim Ryan. 

"I'm a doer.  I like to be able to effect change. I should hope that moving forward from today that we can actually effect change because each and every one of you out there, we hear you.  We understand," said Commissioner Barbara Sharief. 

Commissioners will consider a new expanded living wage ordinance drafted by the County Attorney at a future date with the accompanying study to be completed within the next two months.