Williams's Minimum Wage Bill Softened

Labor Activists See Loss of Key Element

By Lori Montgomery

Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 11, 2005; Page B01

City Administrator Robert C. Bobb yesterday backed away from a plan to compel a broad swath of District businesses to pay their workers at least $9.25 an hour, saying Target, Costco and other retail establishments should not be required to pay a city-ordained "living wage."

Under pressure from local business leaders, Bobb said the administration would modify Mayor Anthony A. Williams's original living-wage proposal. That measure called for employers who benefit from city funds -- including tenants of publicly financed buildings and shopping centers -- to pay their workers $10.50 an hour for jobs without health insurance or $9.25 for jobs with benefits, a significant increase over the city's current $6.60 minimum wage.