Last week Chicago passed a living wage ordinance that will make Chicago the nation's largest city to mandate wage and benefit standards for retailing giants like Wal-Mart. The ordinance will be phased in, beginning with mandatory pay of $9.25 an hour and $1.50 in benefits on July 1, 2007, and ending July 1, 2010, with $10 an hour and $3 in benefits. After that, the "living wage" would be raised annually to match the rate of inflation.

The average Wal-Mart employee is paid $7.70 an hour and $16,016 a year, while Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott rakes in $16,826 an hour (based on a 40-hour week) and $34.9 million a year  Wal-Mart and Target threatened to not expand or leave Chicago alltogether, but a veto-proof majority of the Chicago aldermen voted with organized labor and worker’s rights groups.

Living wage ordinances have proven to be a way for lower class workers to escape poverty, receive deserving benefits and have proven not to take away jobs and by leveling the playing field have actually reduced costs to employers.

Costs/benefits of a living wage

List of living wage ordinances underway