Milwaukee County Board approves living wage ordinance

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee County Board passed the living wage ordinance with a 12-6 veto-proof vote. The newly passed ordinance sets a minimum wage for county employees and contracted employees.

The vote would boost the pay for county employees and people who do business with the county to at least $11.32 an hour.  Supervisor David Bowen led the charge late last year by introducing the ordinance, which passed the Finance, Personnel, and Audit Committee last week.

But not everyone is in favor of the increase.

County Executive Chris Abele has said that he would rather push to raise the state or federal minimum wage, not push the cost onto Milwaukee County taxpayers. 

Supervisor Deanna Alexander is also in opposition, saying the ordinance will do more harm than good and that it's a false victory.