Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Defeat of Chicago's big-box "living wage" ordinance means more jobs

Last summer, Chicago Ald. Joe Moore got a "living wage" ordinance passed by the Chicago City Council that would've applied to only the biggest retailers in the city, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Lowe's, and Home Depot.

Not long after, Lowe's and Target announced cancelling new store projects in Chicago.

But there is common sense in Chicago--Mayor Richard M. Daley vetoed the bill.

Yesterday one of those "big boxes," Home Depot, announced a nationwide hiring spree that will include giving 2,000 Chicagoans new jobs.

Of course some people don't get it. One of the major supporters of Moore's bill was the Service Employees International Union. Had Moore, SEIU, and other short-sighted ones gotten their way, those Home Depot jobs wouldn't be coming to Chicago.

This winter SEIU members are knocking on the doors of Chicagoans, trying to convince them to toss out incumbent Chicago alderman in next month's elections who voted against the "living wage" ordinance.

But what exactly is SEIU's job creation program?

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