CTA to require contractors, subcontractors to pay $13 minimum wage

The Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) board this week approved an ordinance that will require all CTA contractors and subcontractors to pay their eligible employees a minimum wage of $13 an hour.

The measure makes the CTA the first Chicago sister agency to raise the minimum wage requirement following Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Sept. 3 executive order requiring a $13-per-hour minimum wage for work performed under city contracts.

"We are committed to the mayor's goal of making sure our purchasing power helps ensure a fair working wage," said CTA President Forrest Claypool in a press release.

The ordinance takes effect for contracts advertised as of Nov. 15. Contracts most likely to be affected involve work or services performed on CTA property or job sites, such as landscaping, janitorial services, snow removal and security. The ordinance does not affect contracts with nonprofit organizations or real estate-related agreements, CTA officials said.

Contractors that do not comply with the ordinance will risk losing their CTA business, they added.