Salem Proposes 'Living Wage' For All Municipal Workers

SALEM, MA — A proposed city ordinance in Salem would bring all municipal worker salaries up to a "living wage" of at least $18.75 per hour.

The City Council on Thursday will discuss City Councilor At-Large Kyle Davis's "Living Wage Ordinance," which Davis said would affect about 100 municipal employees who currently make at or slightly above the state's minimum wage.

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"The intention is to make sure that people are making a wage of dignity that they can have an easier time living in Salem," Davis told Patch. "These ordinances can also improve employee retention and help us to attract applicants more easily when hiring."

Davis said the ordinance was designed based on the one Boston implemented several years ago.

Davis said that the ordinance has been shown to have an "incredible human impact on affected employees, who were found to have significantly less food and housing insecurity after the legislation was put in place."

The proposal would set the municipal "living wage" minimum at 116 percent of the federal poverty threshold for a family of four, as published annually by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, or 120 percent of the federal or Massachusetts minimum wage, whichever is greater.

Davis said that would amount to about $18.75 for 2027, and would represent about a $1 per hour raise for most of the affected city employees.

He said that is "something the city can reasonably achieve."

He told Patch that the Finance Department is expected to provide data on the exact cost to the city of the proposal at Thursday's meeting of the Council Committee on Ordinances, Licenses and Legal Affairs at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers.

Public comment will be allowed at the sub-committee meeting.

The full City Council is set to meet following the sub-committee at 7 p.m.

The ordinance was created in partnership with the North Shore Labor Council.