Boston City Council Refers Living Wage Expansion, BPS Receivership Resolution to Committee

BOSTON — October 6, 2021 — Boston City Council moves to codify prevailing wages for custodial and security workers while deferring BPS receivership vote. At the October 6 meeting, the council referred Docket 1043 — an ordinance amending Chapter 24 of the Boston Code to extend prevailing wage requirements to custodial and building security workers under city contracts and subcontracts — to the Committee on Government Operations; the measure, championed by Councillor Lydia Edwards and co-sponsored by Councillor Julia Mejia, codifies a June 2021 executive order by Acting Mayor Kim Janey. Mejia also filed a late resolution opposing state receivership of Boston Public Schools, citing a state review that flagged 34 BPS schools as scoring in the lowest 10 percent on MCAS, but after pushback from Councillors Frank Baker and Michael Flaherty calling for a public hearing rather than a symbolic vote, Mejia agreed to send the matter to the Committee on Education. The council unanimously passed a $49,192 federal road safety grant and a $254,194 youth workforce research grant, and declared October 6 "Chas Davis Day" in honor of Paralympic marathoner Chas Davis.