Proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter calling on the General Assembly to provide for a decent, living wage; and providing for the submission of the amendment to the electors of Philadelphia.

WHEREAS, Under Section 6 of the First Class City Home Rule Act (53 P.S. §13106), an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter may be proposed by a resolution of the Council of the City of Philadelphia adopted with the concurrence of two-thirds of its elected members; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the following amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter is hereby proposed and shall be submitted to the electors of the City on an election date designated by ordinance:

ARTICLE VIII

PROVISIONS OF GENERAL APPLICATION

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CHAPTER 5

REFERENDA APPROVED BY THE VOTERS

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§ 8-506. Providing for a Decent, Living Wage.

We, the citizens of Philadelphia, believe that a fair day's work deserves a fair day's wage; that working people deserve to be paid a decent, family sustaining, living wage; and that the current Pennsylvania minimum wage is unacceptable because it makes a decent living impossible for too many working people, relegating too many to a life of poverty. We, therefore, call upon the Pennsylvania General Assembly to raise the Pennsylvania minimum wage now, so that it reaches $15 an hour, in stages, by 2025, in order to allow a working person to avoid poverty and to afford the basic necessities of life. Alternatively, we call upon the General Assembly to allow the City of Philadelphia to take care of its own residents and to increase the minimum wage in Philadelphia.

All appropriate City officials are hereby vested with the authority and the responsibility to take all appropriate steps, to the fullest extent allowable under the law, to ensure that working people in Philadelphia are paid a decent, family sustaining, living wage.

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End