Minneapolis Wants To Hear From The Public On Minimum Wage
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Officials in Minneapolis are seeking input from various groups – business owners, immigrant communities and neighborhood organizations – on how the city should move forward in regards to its minimum wage policy.
The city announced Thursday that it will host a series of nine listening sessions during the next several weeks, seeking input from residents, workers and employers on how a change in minimum wage policy would affect them. The ideas heard and generated during the sessions will be helpful to officials as they consider policy recommendations, which will be presented in the middle of the year, the city says.
Looking ahead, the issue of increasing the minimum wage will likely be one of the main questions of the up-coming mayoral race. While some of the candidates -- current Democratic Mayor Betsy Hodges, prominent Black Lives Matter activist Nekima Levy-Pounds, city council member Jacob Frey and DFL State Rep. Raymond Dehn -- have expressed support for increasing the minimum wage, questions remain as to how to do it best.
The up-coming listening sessions are open to the public, although each one has a specific focus group. The city says each session will have interpreters available and that meeting organizers will use several tactics to engage community members.
The listening sessions -- with their dates, times, locations and focuses -- are listed below. More information can be found here.
-- Tuesday, Jan. 24: Latino community
6 p.m.- 7:30 p.m.
Mercado Central, second floor, 1515 E. Lake St.
-- Thursday, Jan. 26: Minneapolis Business Advisory Group
2:30 p.m.- 3:30 p.m.
US Bank basement conference room, 919 E. Lake St.
-- Thursday, Jan. 26: East African community
6 p.m.- 7:30 p.m.
Brian Coyle Center, 420 15th Ave. S.
-- Monday, Jan. 30: East Town Business Partnership
3 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.
Location TBD
-- Tuesday, Feb. 7: Native American community
5:30 p.m.-7 p.m.
All My Relations Gallery (Powwow Grounds), 1414 E. Franklin Ave.
-- Tuesday, Feb. 14: Minneapolis Downtown Council and Northeast Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce
4 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
DID conference rooms (TBD)
-- Wednesday, Feb. 15: African American community
3 p.m. -5 p.m.
NEON, 1007 W. Broadway Ave.
-- Wednesday, Feb. 15: general public
6 p.m. -7:30 p.m.
Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th St.
-- Thursday, Feb. 23: general public
6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Urban League, main gathering room, 2100 Plymouth Ave.
