If there’s one thing that the outgoing Democrats are supposedly leaving us with, it’s the big bad budget deficit, the one thing everyone assumed the city would be bickering over when they passed the 2011 budget deficit on Tuesday night. Strangely, it was not the focus of the hearing. Instead, the six-plus-hour long meeting centered around – I’ll give you one guess – the Edgewater. The hotel remodeling and media buzz is wearing thin on the patience of the citizens of Madison, and although alders are trying to push through what could be, if passed, important legislation for workers, Hammes Co. is counting on the jaded public to overlook their greed.
As reported by The Badger Herald, Ald. Brian Soloman, District 10, tried to introduce an amendment back in May that would require Hammes Co., the company that is building and operating the Edgewater, to hire 15 percent of their workforce from minorities and women, and to have 25 percent of their jobs pay salaries that exceed the living wage. However, it was never brought to a vote back in May both because Hammes Co. President and CEO Robert Dunn made a fuss, and alders were angered that Solomon had tried to put new legislation into play at what they believed to be the last minute. It came up again in Tuesday’s meeting, but a decision was once again pushed back, this time due to the testimony of Dunn.
Both Solomon and Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, heralded the legislature, with Verveer saying it was, “a vote on whether we support labor or don’t support labor in this community.” Legislation that requires a percentage of jobs to exceed the living wage would be a win for workers in an atmosphere where candidates and politicians alike have promised jobs, jobs and more jobs, but often have not focused on the quality of the positions being provided. Large job opportunities like transportation or hospitality usually mean menial jobs for those who are willing to take them. Of course, in an economy like this one no one can afford to be picky, and doubtless those who receive jobs at Edgewater will be happy to be at work again. Even so, it would be a progressive step to guarantee them not only jobs, but good jobs.
Dunn, however, voiced his concerns with the legislature loudly, saying, “It’s impossible for me to understand what value is being brought forth to us or to them.” To be fair, there is no real benefit for Hammes Co. other than philosophical significance, since the city would be forcing them to pay 25 percent of their employees a meaningful wage and employ a quota of minorities and women, which is both a unnecessary cost and an embarrassment to the company.
Business is business, of course, and Hammes is looking to post a profit for their stockholders and have a little take-home cash. However, after having won this major bid at the Edgewater, the company could afford to be ethical in their employment. Tuesday’s budget meeting would have been the perfect opportunity for the company to step up, especially since they were saved by the bell during May’s meeting when the alders began to fight amongst themselves. Hammes, however, fought the measure down on Tuesday, and are betting that everyone’s too fed up with the Edgewater to realize that they’re putting down what would have been powerful legislature for workers.
For the sake of the quality of Madison jobs, this measure cannot be pushed back again; Edgewater has already been drudging through the system and Madisonian psyche for the past 18 months, and of course we want the issue out of our hair. But if we want Madison to continue to be a town that’s progressive in our employment quality, we need to hold Hammes to the line and guarantee both those struggling for jobs and minorities reasonable pay and job security.
Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in anthropology and intending to major in Spanish.
