Members of Connecticut's school bus workers' union to testify in favor of a stronger Living Wage Ordinance at Mayor's Task Force public hearing tonight

HARTFORD—School bus drivers and monitors have joined with a coalition of community organizations to ensure that Hartford's Living Wage Ordinance is lifting low-wage workers out of poverty without increasing economic burdens on taxpayers. The current law requires companies contracted by city agencies compensate their service workers with a self-supporting income, though advocates are concerned the wage has not kept pace with Hartford's soaring cost of living.

Members of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 who work for two of the Hartford Board of Education's student transportation contractors will tell the Mayor's Living Wage Task Force how the ordinance has impacted their lives at a public hearing tonight. The hearing begins at 5:00 p.m. in Room 208 of Hartford's City Hall in Room 208, and is open to the press and the public.

"We supported Mayor Eddie Perez' proposal to create this Task Force because the current living wage is not allowing enough workers to afford to live and raise their families in our city" school bus monitor Hector Diaz will say in testimony. "According to a recent study, Hartford's living wage is far below its 'self-sufficiency wage'" he will point out, referring to a report by the economic policy advocacy group Connecticut Voices for Children.

The City's Court of Common Council passed the Living Wage Ordinance in 1999, at the leading edge of a trend that has resulted in similar laws passed in New Haven, Meriden, and New Britain. Over the past decade, more than 140 Living Wage laws have been passed in cities and counties across the country, all based on the same common belief; limited public dollars should not be subsidizing poverty-wage work.

"Livable wages means more families will be less reliant on rental housing subsidies, which we all pay for" Diaz will say, referring to how local taxpayers bear the cost of subsidized services when city contractors pay their workers less than a livable wage. "And that means more families in Hartford achieving the American Dream of home ownership," he will add.

CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 represents 25,000 active and retired public sector workers serving in state, municipal, and town agencies, as well as local school boards across Connecticut. The union's membership also includes workers with non-profit organizations and private companies contracted to provide public services through state and local agencies. Visit www.seiu2001.org online for more information about the union's campaign to "Drive Up Standards" in the student transportation industry.