The newly forming Living Wage Coalition of Central Virginia announces a Charlottesville-area-wide effort to encourage local employers to pay at least $15 per hour to all of their workers. The group will hold a media event on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2, at 12 noon at the Free Speech Wall on the Downtown Mall.

The Living Wage Coalition has initiated a voluntary program to “Certify” local businesses who currently pay at least $15 an hour. At the Labor Day event, several local businesses will receive their certificates along with “cling stickers” to place in a public spot at their business.

LWCCV will publicize the names of all certified employers and urge the public to spend their dollars with those businesses. The group also welcomes other individuals and organizations to participate in this campaign by helping to spread the word.

The coalition encourages more local employers to raise their base pay. Virginia’s minimum wage of $7.25, based on federal minimum wage, has not gone up since 2008. The call for “Living Wage” in the Charlottesville-Albemarle area is gaining more traction, as the city and the university both have announced pay raises.

LWCCV recognizes that not all employers can afford $15 per hour. They also have an “Aspiring” level of certification for those who pay at least $12.50 and pledge to raising to $13.50 within two years.

The Living Wage Coalition is a collaboration between Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP), Virginia Organizing, and the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice. The effort originally was spearheaded by VICPP, which has similar initiatives in Richmond, Harrisonburg, and Northern Virginia.  Groups are in the planning stages in Blacksburg and James City County.

More information, including the application, can be found at bit.ly/CharlottesvilleLivingWage.

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Media contacts:

Amanda Silcox
Economic Justice Program Manager
Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
amanda@virginiainterfaithcenter.org
216-375-9570

Monica Pawinski
Publicity & Communications Chair
Living Wage Coalition of Central Virginia
monica.pawinski@gmail.com
434-566-8955