A Bill aimed at Wal-Mart Dies in D.C.

An effort to require Wal-Mart and other large retailers to pay their employees a "living wage" of at least $12.50 an hour met its end Tuesday when the D.C. Council failed to override Mayor Vincent Gray's veto. 

The bill put Washington at the center of a national debate over compensation for low-wage workers _ and whether some large companies should be required to pay more. Supporters said Wal-Mart can afford to pay higher wages, while opponents said the bill unfairly singled out certain businesses and would have a chilling effect on economic development.

Is it just me...or does putting in an honest days work
look like it's about the last thing on their mind.?

The council voted 7-6 to override the veto, falling two votes short of the required two-thirds majority. The bill was approved in July by an 8-5 vote. Council member Anita Bonds, who earlier voted for the bill, voted against the override. 

Gray, a Democrat, called the bill a job killer, saying it would drive Wal-Mart and other retailers _ including Home Depot, Target and Wegmans _ out of the city. Wal-Mart had threatened to abandon plans for three of the six stores it had planned for the nation's capital if the bill became law.

After the council failed to override the veto, supporters of the bill protested loudly inside and outside the council chamber, shouting "We won't forget!" The protest briefly interrupted the council meeting. Supporters included unions, some clergy and other advocates for the poor. 

The bill applied only to retailers with stores of 75,000 square feet or larger and at least $1 billion in annual corporate sales. It exempted stores with unionized workforces and included a 4-year phase-in period for existing stores.

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