Report Ordered on Living Wage Plan

City Council members have supported, in concept, the creation of a living wage proposal and this week directed city Manager Ed Sotelo to draft a report on the issue by early next year.

Before a backdrop of posters, loud applause and people wearing jackets emblazoned with union logos, the Ventura County Living Wage Coalition--a grass-roots collection of labor, community and faith-based organizations--on Tuesday made its case for why wages of at least $8 an hour were needed.

The coalition wants the city to consider an ordinance mandating contractors who receive $25,000 or more from the city to pay their employees at least $8 an hour with health benefits, or $10 an hour without.

“Oxnard is a great place to live, but we have some issues to deal with in terms of poverty,” Marcos Vargas, coalition chairman, said at the council’s weekly meeting.

Vargas said wages above the state and federal minimum wage are needed for several reasons, including:

* 73% of all students who live in Oxnard qualify to receive free or reduced lunch;

* Of the 8,590 families who receive cash assistance in Ventura County, 48% live in and around Oxnard.

More than a dozen people spoke in support of the proposal.

Denis O’Leary, a teacher, said if more parents earned a sustainable wage it would improve students’ academic performance because parents would have more time to spend with their child on schoolwork instead of racing off to a second or third job.