CHICAGO (AFX) - Brushing aside warnings from Wal-Mart that it might take its business elsewhere, the City Council approved an ordinance Wednesday that makes Chicago the biggest city in the nation to require big-box retailers to pay a 'living wage.'
'It's trying to get the largest companies in America to pay decent wages,' said Alderman Toni Preckwinkle.
The ordinance passed 35-14 after three hours of impassioned debate.
The measure requires mega-retailers with over $1 billion in annual sales and stores of at least 90,000 square feet to pay workers at least $10 an hour in wages plus $3 in fringe benefits by mid-2010. The current minimum wage in Illinois is $6.50 an hour and the federal minimum is $5.15.
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