Birmingham City Council Ups the Minimum Wage
The Birmingham City Council’s agenda was long, but all anyone seemed to care about was what the minimum wage would be come Wednesday.
The council passed the initial minimum wage ordinance unanimously in August (Councilor Valerie Abbott abstained), but today, members were divided.
Councilors Kim Rafferty and Valerie Abbott voted against the ordinance. Abbott said she’d received multiple emails from business owners who were worried how they’d comply if the higher wage went in effect tomorrow.
“I think that that’s a little bit of a short notice for businesses in Birmingham to be told that they have to raise people’s wages on tomorrow,” Abbott said.
Abbott also cautioned about starting a fight with the Legislature.
Last year, Birmingham passed a stair-step raise in its minimum wage, with an eventual increase to $10.10 by 2017.
Then, last week, the Alabama House of Representative passed a bill that would stop cities in Alabama from raising their own minimum wages, and that bill is presently being debated in the Senate.
But Council President Johnathan Austin said he was up for it. He and other councilors argued the state should not be involved in local affairs.
“The Legislature is 100 percent in favor of states rights, yet they want to come in and dictate to this elected body, who we were elected by these citizens, what we do and how we govern ourselves,” Austin argued.
The ordinance passed with a six to two vote. But, the law department noted that the ordinance would not take effect until it was officially published, which could be later this week.
Alabama’s prison population sees troubling growth in latest DOJ report
For the first time in nearly a decade, U.S. prison populations are trending up. Alabama's numbers are a part of troubling gains across the Gulf South.
A narrowing Republican presidential field will debate in Tuscaloosa Wednesday
Four candidates will be on stage at the University of Alabama for their last scheduled meeting before the Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential nominating season next month. Former President Donald Trump, the race’s clear front-runner, will not be among them.
Place, Erased: A virtual listening session with the Gulf States Newsroom; RSVP now
Join us as we listen to the recent series about towns transformed by major environmental shifts and talk with the reporters about what they learned.
Tuberville is ending blockade of most military nominees
Tuberville’s blockade of military promotions was over a dispute about a Pentagon abortion policy. The Alabama Republican said Tuesday he’s “not going to hold the promotions of these people any longer.”
Man featured in ‘S-Town’ podcast shot and killed by police during standoff, authorities say
Joseph Tyler Goodson was shot by officers after he barricaded himself inside a home and “brandished a gun" at officers early Sunday, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said. Bibb County Coroner Patrick Turner said that Goodson was pronounced “brain dead” Tuesday night at a hospital.
The next Republican debate is in Alabama, the state that gave the GOP a road map to Donald Trump
The state that propelled George Wallace, a Democrat and four-term governor, into national politics is now dominated by Republicans loyal to Donald Trump, another figure who leans heavily on grievance and white identity politics.
