Brushing aside the executive branch’s objections, 10 Allegheny County Council members voted Tuesday to override County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s veto and enact a minimum wage for county employees.
The new pay floor, the first of its kind in Allegheny County government, will require the county to pay all workers at least $18 per hour starting in 2024, $19 per hour in 2025 and $20 per hour in 2026. Fitzgerald Tuesday evening did not rule out a legal challenge to the new law.
“Agreeing to work for the county should not necessarily entail taking a vow of poverty,” Council President Pat Catena said at Tuesday’s meeting. “Balancing our budget must never be dependent on forcing our employees to take that vow on a daily basis.”
Voting to push the law through were councilors Olivia Bennett, Jack Betkowski, Tom Duerr, Bethany Hallam, Paul Klein, Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, John Palmiere, Bob Palmosina, Anita Prizio and President Pat Catena. Opposing the measure, as they did when it initially passed on June 6, were Sam DeMarco, Nicholas Futules, Bob Macey and DeWitt Walton. Suzanne Filiaggi missed the June 6 vote and voted against the override Tuesday.
Fitzgerald wrote in a message to council members that his veto was more focused on process and separation of powers than substance. He referenced a legal opinion from the county solicitor that said that the county’s Home Rule Charter gives the power to set wages only to the executive branch, not the legislators. He also claimed that...
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