Living Wage Pledge
I Pledge to Support a Living Wage
Public sector workers are critical to the success of government, handling both day-to-day functions and the on-the-ground implementation of policy. Yet their contributions go either unnoticed or unappreciated as seen by their low, often stagnating salaries. At this time of skyrocketing housing costs and inflationary pressures, many employees are now facing the difficult decision between serving their communities or shifting to the private sector to afford being able to live. A full-time working person should - at a minimum - be able to afford a basic standard of living within their own community without experiencing personal financial fragility and the mental and physical health impacts that come along with it. Local governments must lead by their values in working to solve this critical problem.
"I pledge to use my office to raise and maintain the starting salaries of all public employees to a living wage. I pledge to increase the local teaching supplement for teachers and school staff to cover the gap between the state salary schedule and the local annual cost of living. I pledge to advance and support a resolution establishing a living wage ordinance for all public employees in my local government."
Current living wage numbers are shown below for ease of reference; click on your county to see how much an employee must make to afford the local cost of living. The exact formula for calculating living wage can be found at the bottom of this webpage.
Sign the Pledge
The Progressive Caucus, Labor Caucus, and Young Democrats of North Carolina have worked together to create a pledge directed at officials and candidates currently holding or running for local office. Our three organizations require signing this pledge as a prerequisite to endorsement consideration for city/town council and mayoral candidates, county commissioner candidates, and school board candidates. Please use the below linked Google Form to digitally sign the pledge.
Living Wage Definition:
Living wage is a defined salary level at which a full-time employee spends no more than 30% of their gross annual income on their housing costs. Modeled off the successful living wage ordinances adopted by the cities of Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh as well as the Orange and Wake County governments, housing prices are determined by averaging the Department of Housing and Urban Development's four most recently published years' one-bedroom FMRs (Fair Market Rents) for the relevant HUD metro area. Living wage is only enough to cover basic needs and expenses and is a well defined but minimum standard that should not be an over-interpreted measure of success. In signing this pledge, I am committing to use my office to advance increases to the local budget in order for local government employees to make an annual or hourly salary indexed to the above definition of a living wage or $15 an hour, whichever is higher.
Please email endorsementschair@pcncdp.org with any questions about our joint living wage candidate pledge.
Elected Officials
Denise 'D.D.' Adams
Winston-Salem City Council
Nida Allam
Durham County Commission
Emily Biggs
Martin County Commission
Nimasheena Burns
Durham County Commission
Patricia 'Pat' Cotham
Mecklenburg County Commission
Amanda Dumas
Huntersville Town Commission
Sean C. Ewing
Mebane City Council
Arthur Griffin
Mecklenburg County Commission
Matt Hughes
Hillsborough Town Commission
Wendy Jacobs
Durham County Commission
Bettye Jenkins
Guilford Board of Education
Vilma D. Leake
Mecklenburg County Commission
Lethia Lee
Sampson County Commission
Jovonia Lewis
Durham Board of Education
Phyllis Portie-Ascott
Orange County Commission
Gregory 'Dee' Rankin
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Susan Rodriguez-McDowell
Mecklenburg County Commission
Parker Sloan
Buncombe County Commission
Tara Waters
Wake County Commission
Candidates for Office
Pepi Acebo
Asheville Board of Education
JoAnne Allen
Winston-Salem City Council
Adam Beeman
Orange County Commission
Valerie Brockenbrough
Forsyth County Commission
Michelle Burton
Durham County Commission
Marilyn Carter
Orange County Commission
DaQuanta Copeland
Wake County Commission
Kendall Fields
Forsyth County Commission
Linwood Gallop
Pasquotank County Commission
Robert 'Bob' Hartwell
Winston-Salem City Council
Raymond Hedrick Hayes, Jr.
Sampson County Commission
Adam Hege
Watauga Board of Education
Bo Hess
Asheville City Council
Jennifer Horton
Buncombe County Commission
Anthony Izzard
Guilford Board of Education
Vivian Joiner
Winston-Salem City Council
Judy Justice
New Hanover Board of Education
Matt Kern
Buncombe County Commission
Jared Lamkin
Winston-Salem City Council
Mike Lee
Durham County Commission
Feletia Smith Lipford
Lenoir County Commission
Denise Magwood
Craven Board of Education
Paula J. McCoy
Winston-Salem City Council
Tim Merrick
New Hanover Board of Education
Charles Osborne
Mecklenburg County Commission
Daryl Payton
Durham County Commission
Tammy Raynor Petrosillo
Franklin Board of Education
Tracy L. Phillips
Edgecombe County Commission
Gary Redding
Halifax County Commission
Troy Shaw
Franklin County Commission
Jimmie C. Silver
Halifax County Commission
Adrian Smith
Winston-Salem City Council
Lloyd A. Smith
Lee County Commission
Felicia Thompkins
Mecklenburg County Commission
Yvette Townsend-Ingram
Mecklenburg County Commission
Stephen J. Valentine
Durham County Commission
Blake Van Leer
Mecklenburg County Commission
Renee Jamison Vaughan
Durham County Commission
Kymberli Wellman
Winston-Salem City Council
Marsie West
Forsyth County Commission
Wesley Wheless
Franklin County Commission
Curtis Young
Halifax Board of Education