Section 1, the Summary, gives people a short-hand way of knowing the general ideas in the petition. Also, if this issue ends up on a ballot, this is our attempt to suggest what the language on the ballot should be.

Section 2, Findings, is the place where we state why we think raising the minimum wage in Greensboro is a good idea. It's intended as a context for why we are proposing this new ordinance.

Section 3, the Greensboro Minimum Wage Ordinance, is the actual language of the proposed ordinance. It's the longest part, and has a bunch of sub-parts, which are discussed below.

1. Title: This section simply states the title of the proposed ordinance.


2. Authority: This section says that the City of Greensboro is empowered to enact the proposed ordinance on the basis of "general police powers" granted in the North Carolina Constitution, other State laws, and the Charter granted to the City by the State. Here, the term "police powers" doesn't have anything to do with police in the usual sense - it has to do with the right of a city to enact ordinances regulating aspects of life in the community.


3. Definitions: This section explains what we mean by several terms in the proposed ordinance.
• The term "Agency" is defined to be either the Human Relations Department or whatever department the City decides is best suited to implement the ordinance. We don't want to hamstring the City with a plan that proves to be unworkable - that is why we were somewhat flexible in this definition.
• The term "City" is the City of Greensboro.
• The term "Employee" includes any and all people working inside the City of Greensboro who are already covered under the North Carolina minimum wage law.
• The term "Employer" includes any person or business entity that employs people in Greensboro.
• The term "Minimum Wage" is defined in the next section.
4. Minimum Wage: This section is the heart of the ordinance. It says four things:
   • One-hundred eighty (180) days from the date the ordinance is enacted, the minimum wage in Greensboro will rise to $8.50/hour. (The reason for the staged phase-in is to give businesses time to adjust.)
   • One year after enactment, the minimum wage will rise to $9.82/hour (again, providing time to adjust).
   • On January 1, 2011 and each year following, the City's minimum wage will be adjusted to keep pace with inflation, as measured in the Consumer Price Index. This preserves the minimum wage's buying power.
   • The Minimum Wage Ordinance will apply to everyone working in Greensboro who is already covered under the State's minimum wage law - except people who work for city, county, state, or federal government offices and agencies. The reason for this exception is that there are laws that limit us as citizens and the City of Greensboro from setting the wage and salary levels of governmental entities.
5. Implementation and Enforcement: This section says that the designated City Agency will be charged with implementing, monitoring, and enforcing the Ordinance. It spells out how investigation and enforcement will work in the case of a suspected violation, whether handled by the designated City Agency or through a civil action in the courts. In general, a suspected violation comes to the attention of the Agency or the courts through a citizen making a complaint. The same due process approaches used in enforcement of the State minimum wage law are used here.


6. Notice and Posting: This section says that it is the City's responsibility to inform businesses of the new minimum wage, by publishing a printed notice and using other tools (e.g., email, websites, etc). It also says that businesses must post the information about the minimum wage in a place where employees can easily see it.


7. Relationship to Other Requirements: This section clarifies that the sole purpose of this ordinance is to raise the minimum wage in Greensboro, so it doesn't pre-empt other agreements that allow for higher wages.


8. Effective Date: This section states that the ordinance becomes effective on the date it is enacted. That means that six months later, Greensboro businesses must pay at least $8.50/hour, and one year after the date of enactment, they must pay at least $9.82/hour.


9. Severability: This section says that if some part of this ordinance is found to be invalid, then the ordinance as a whole should not be treated as invalid - those parts that are held invalid can be "severed" from the whole.
We need you to get this petition out there! Email us at info@greensborominimum.com to find out how you can participate in circulating the petition.