Pressure is mounting on City Council Speaker Christine Quinn — a 2013 mayoral hopeful — to take a stand on a living-wage bill that would mandate higher pay for employees of companies receiving major city subsidies.
A politically connected small-business owner with close ties to Mayor Bloomberg plans to announce his support for the bill today, while operatives working on the measure are engineering a ramped-up campaign to begin after Martin Luther King Day.
Steve Hindy, president of Brooklyn Brewery, will endorse a bill before the council that requires developers receiving at least $1 million in city subsidies to pay retail employees $11.50 an hour, or $10 with benefits. State minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
Quinn has not allowed the contentious legislation to come before the council for a vote since its introduction in May 2010 and refuses to state her position.
She fears angering business owners and allies of Bloomberg, a staunch opponent of the measure. She also wants to maintain a good relationship with union leaders, who support it.