Austin City Council approves $22 hourly wage for city workers at Thursday meeting

Chris O'Connell

June 16, 2022, link to original article.

Last week, the momentum toward a $22 hourly wage for city employees crested following support from District 2's Vanessa Fuentes.

"The $22 per-hour wage proposal I’m introducing next week would provide City of Austin Employees with a path forward to a much-needed wage increase," Fuentes told MySA in advance of Thursday's City Council meeting. "This proposal would work towards a more equitable baseline for city employees."

On Thursday, the measure passed by consent during City Council's scheduled meeting, a contentious one that also includes a potential vote to ban or restrict AR-15 sales to people under 21. The final decision now rests with Austin's City Manager, who is in charge of implementing the city budget.

At the meeting, city workers testified about the need to raise the minimum wage to meet nationwide inflation and local housing increases. A medic, who says he is being priced out of Austin, told City Council that he has been assaulted multiple times while on the job, including a recent stomping that has left him with breathing issues.

"The pay does not match what we go through," he said, mentioning that a second-year medic like himself makes around $46,000 in Austin, much less than a local police officer.

When Council Member Chito Vela asked him to clarify, he said that an APD officer with similar experience would make upward of $70,000.

The loudest support for a $22 wage has come from lifeguards like Barton Springs' Scott Cobb, who spent the fall and spring advocating for better pay and benefits for his colleagues. The city has faced a lifeguard shortage that previously kept Barton Springs closed for two days each week this spring, and has left more than half of Austin's municipal pools shuttered during an ongoing heat wave.

"A $22 living wage for all City of Austin employees will ensure Barton Springs and other pools will fully open on time next year and that Austin hires and retains skilled and experienced staff in jobs in all city departments to fully serve the people of Austin," Cobb told MySA before City Council heard the item. "A $22 living wage will help lifeguards and other city employees put food on their tables, gas in their cars, and maintain roofs over their heads in a time of skyrocketing living expenses."

Cobb and fellow Barton Springs lifeguard Sofia Pena testified in front of City Council alongside other Austin city employees.

Barton Springs Lifeguards Scott Cobb and Sofia Pena after speaking to City Council in favor of a $22 living wage.



The increase should go into effect — pending budget approval by City Manager Spencer Cronk — during fiscal year 2023, which begins on October 1, 2022. The working group that first recommended the $22 wage to City Council has also stated that the hourly wage should increase every year, reaching $27 per hour by 2027.

"I feel good, but it’s not a done deal until we see what the City Manager puts in the budget," Cobb tells MySA, following the approval by City Council, who could still amend the budget at a later date if $22 is not set by Cronk. "I’m optimistic though."

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Amid staff shortage, Austin lifeguards push for higher wages, better benefits