Following a similar decision for city employees and contractor workers this year, Mayor Michael Hancock and Denver City Council members will propose increasing a citywide minimum wage to $15 by 2021.
City spokesman Mike Strott and Councilwoman Robin Kniech announced today that an announcement will be made Thursday. More details will be revealed then.
The law would be passed by a City Council-approved ordinance. A press release today for a press conference tomorrow said that if it's adopted by City Council, "more than 100,000 workers would see higher wages."
Kniech said she's looking forward to having "a good dialogue" with the community as the proposal moves forward.
"I am excited to be able to work on raising wages in our city," she said. "From 20 years of community organizing and serving in elected office, this is something I was never sure I was going to be able to do."
In March, City Council voted to pass a minimum wage increase for city employees and many of its contractors. It would eventually reach $15 by 2021 over incremental, year-to-year increases.
It was previously impossible for the city to set its own citywide minimum wage, but a bill passed by the General Assembly during the last week of this year's session allowed local governments to set their own minimums, paving the way for Denver to have such a proposal. The state minimum wage is $11.10 per hour.
