The Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously to raise the minimum wage in Milwaukee Tuesday.

The wage would go from $5.15 an hour to $5.70 as of Oct. 1. By October 2006, it would go up to $6.50.

"It certainly needs to be done in the city of Milwaukee," said Mike D'Amato, 3rd District alderman and a cosponsor of the proposal, during the meeting. "Doing the right thing should never cause us hesitation, and this is certainly the right thing."

Several aldermen said they hoped the measure would bring action from the state legislature. The legislature put the issue of a statewide wage increase into committee when it met Tuesday. Gov. Jim Doyle has been pushing to get the Republican-controlled legislature to back his minimum wage increases, which are the same as those adopted by the Common Council.

"I would just hope that we would see an effort in the state legislature to go beyond partisan games and to address this issue at a statewide level," said James Bohl, alderman for the 5th District.

Bohl hopes the legislature will pass a statewide minimum wage increase before the Milwaukee increase goes into effect.

"Everyone who is working on this issue agrees it is something that needs to be taken uniformly," said Tony Zielinski, 14th District alderman and the primary sponsor of the measure.

The last minimum wage increase in Wisconsin was eight years ago.

"There's no economic reason to deny this rise in minimum wage statewide," D'Amato said.

Mayor Tom Barrett plans to sign the legislation, according to Carlene Orig, his press secretary.

Wisconsin's current minimum wage is below the poverty level, allowing people to make about $11,000 a year, said Mike Murphy, 10th District alderman.

Joanne Ricca, a legislative staff member at the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, said that even the proposed wage increase will not be enough for some people.

"At $6.50 an hour, a family of three is still below the poverty level," Ricca said.

Milwaukee is the second Wisconsin city to raise its minimum wage level. Madison put a $5.70 minimum wage into effect last month.

The Main Street Coalition for Economic Growth, Inc., composed of several Wisconsin business associations, is suing Madison for raising the minimum wage.

The coalition supports a statewide minimum wage increase, but thinks individual cities raising their wages is not a good idea, according to Ed Lump, president of the coalition and president and CEO of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.

"The reality is having a statewide minimum is preferable to having a hodgepodge of wages across the state," Lump said.

Lump said retailers would consider locating at the edge of a city in order to avoid the higher wages, and the differing wage rates would create an "economic chaos."

Lump said the Milwaukee decision might not influence the state to raise the wage.

"This is an interesting game of chicken," Lump said. "It's a bad strategy."

Ricca said the cities' decisions are due to the Republicans in the legislature blocking the wage increase.

"What is happening is a reaction to this totally unreasonable block of the increase," Ricca said. "We hope that they'll hear what the communities are saying."

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 24 2005.