Thousands of laborers, electricians and carpenters who work on construction and repair contracts awarded by Baltimore could get pay increases averaging 1 percent under a recommendation by the city's Wage Commission.
The commission's recommendation, based on its annual survey of the prevailing wages paid by public and private employers in Baltimore to several categories of workers, covers all city construction and renovation contracts in excess of $5,000. The new wage rates are expected to be approved by the Board of Estimates today, and would take effect for contracts awarded after Dec. 30.
Also today, the board has agreed to adopt a resolution boosting the minimum wage for low-paid janitorial and cafeteria workers employed by city contractors to $6.10 an hour beginning in July. Most of them are now paid the federally mandated minimum wage of $4.25 an hour.
Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke yesterday signed into law the "living wage" bill, which has the goal of raising the pay of these service workers to $7.70 an hour in four years.
"I want to underscore the point that this is an important step, but just the first step," Mr. Schmoke said yesterday at a bill-signing ceremony at City Hall. "Wages have to be increased in this country."
Under the recommendation of the Wage Commission, some will get even more than 1 percent and others will get nothing. For instance, a laborer working on a large construction project would get $12.26 an hour, up 65 cents over last year. An ironworker working to repair a city building would get $26.49 an hour, up 50 cents over last year.
City law requires the Wage Commission to conduct an annual survey to determine the most common wages paid to laborers, apprentices and mechanics. The commission recommends changes to the Board of Estimates in the wage rates paid by city contractors for work ranging from demolition to repaving.
In the fiscal year that ended July 1, more than 12,000 contracts worth $492 million were covered by the city's prevailing wage law, according to Jesse J. Hinson Jr., director of the Wage Commission.
The impact of the recommended increases on the city's budget for construction projects and repairs was impossible to determine, Mr. Hinson said. Some contractors could choose to absorb the increases to keep their bids low, while others might try to pass them on, he said.
"It may be as high as 1 percent if they pass everything along," he said.
Contractors who fail to submit certified payroll reports to the city within two weeks after the completion of a job or who don't pay prevailing wages are subject to penalties.
In the last fiscal year, there were 610 violations of city wage regulations, 66 of them for improper payments, Mr. Hinson said.
The Wage Commission assessed contractors $49,620 in penalties and recovered $92,289 in back wages for workers, he said.