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11 <br /> <br />RESOLUTION SUPPORTING 1 <br />NORTH CAROLINA’S WORKING PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES 2 <br /> 3 <br />WHEREAS, North Carolina’s everyday working people are currently struggling in an economy 4 <br />that does not work for them and stagnant wages, public service cuts, systemic discrimination 5 <br />and a weakened social safety net are the norm in many communities; and 6 <br /> 7 <br />WHEREAS, public policy choices, not just market forces, dictate whether working people have 8 <br />access to economic opportunities and benefit fairly from the work they perform; and 9 <br /> 10 <br />WHEREAS, Orange County Government provides strong support for its employees including a 11 <br />minimum living wage of $15 per hour for full time permanent employees and $14.95 per hour 12 <br />for temporary employees, with plans to be at or above $15 per hour for all employees by 2020; 13 <br />and 14 <br /> 15 <br />WHEREAS, North Carolinians need access to safe, green, living wage jobs, free from 16 <br />harassment, violence and discrimination; and 17 <br /> 18 <br />WHEREAS, worker organizing, union membership, and collective bargaining remain the most 19 <br />effective tools for working people to exercise their power on the job and in the public sphere. 20 <br /> 21 <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, 22 <br />do hereby urge our legislative delegation to promote the well-being of North Carolina’s workers 23 <br />and their families by supporting: 24 <br />• Legislation which provides paid family leave for workers in NC who want or need to take 25 <br />parental leave, leave to care for sick family members, or to meet other critical family 26 <br />needs; 27 <br />• Legislation raising the minimum wage for all workers and a $15/hr minimum wage for all 28 <br />state AND LOCAL employees; 29 <br />• Legislation that expands Medicaid coverage; and 30 <br />• Legislation that empowers public employees to negotiate wages and other conditions of 31 <br />their employment, such as repealing so called “right to work” laws and extending the 32 <br />right to collective bargaining to public sector employees. 33 <br /> 34 <br />This the 21st day of May 2019. 35 <br /> 36 <br />Commissioner Dorosin made a friendly amendment: all LOCAL Employees to be added 37 <br />to bullet point; and that Orange County takes this progressive position 38 <br />Chair Rich accepted the friendly amendment. 39 <br /> 40 <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Marcoplos for 41 <br />the Board to approve and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation, and authorize the Clerk 42 <br />to the Board to send the signed resolution to Orange County’s legislative delegation and other 43 <br />99 counties. 44 <br /> 45 <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS 46 <br /> 47 <br />5. Public Hearings 48 <br /> 49