The first ever living wage certification program for the city of Nashville is currently seeking
founding members to be certified in its first round of applicants, to be announced in January.
In honor of International Living Wage Week, November 15-21, Nashville Living Wage
invites employers in Davidson County who pay $17.40/hr (or $15.40/hr with employer-provided health insurance) to all employees to request a certification application through our website: https://www.nashvillelivingwage.com/get-certified.
Launched on Labor Day 2021, Nashville Living Wage mobilizes and advocates for a just
economy in which workers are paid equitably, employers are innovative and successful, and our entire community thrives as a result. NLW uses the survival wage from the 2020 United Way ALICE Report to determine the current living wage in Davidson County, where almost half of the residents live below the ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed)
threshold–meaning that though they work, they cannot afford basic monthly needs for
themselves and their families.
With the backdrop of the economic impacts of the pandemic, the Great Resignation, and a
minimum wage that has not increased in 12 years, living wages are critically important now
more than ever. Recently released Census Bureau data shows that more than 37 million people in America lived at or below the federal poverty line in 2020. People working minimum wage jobs full-time cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment in any state in the country according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2021 Out of Reach report.
Living wages offer a better starting place for workers to be able to afford their basic needs and a wage floor benchmark for employers to contribute to an economy where all workers have access to economic opportunity and mobility.
This week, November 15-21, is International Living Wage Week. Living Wage Week has been celebrated in other countries for years, and this year, Nashville Living Wage joins the celebration with organizations working to promote living wages across the United States and the globe. In the United States, Living Wage Week includes the celebration of local Living Wage Certification programs like Nashville Living Wage, a connection with the global movement for living wages, and the launch of a national living wage certification program in the U.S.: Living Wage For US.
Nashville Living Wage has learned from equivalent programs across the country, some that
have been around for over a decade. Living Wage Certification programs in local communities like Ithaca (NY), Richmond (VA), and Asheville (NC) have been an effective strategy for employers to voluntarily commit to a more just and sustainable wage floor benchmark. The work in these local communities originates from organizations that center workers and promote economic justice in a variety of ways. Local programs connected through the national Living Wage Network will collaborate with Living Wage For US–the new national certification–to advance living wages with employers big and small.
Living Wage Certified programs and participating employers around the country will join together with Living Wage For US in a national online event today, November 15 at 4pm CST to launch Living Wage Week in the US and talk about Living Wage Places. Registration is free and open to the public at this link:
Living Wage Certified programs and participating employers around the country will join together with Living Wage For US in a national online event today, November 15 at 4pm CST to launch Living Wage Week in the US and talk about Living Wage Places. Registration is free and open to the public at this link:https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SZnWRlltRsCvTTKLCzEugw.
For more information about Nashville Living Wage, visit https://www.nashvillelivingwage.com/ or email info@nashvillelivingwage.com. You can also make a donation to support this important
work at https://www.nashvillelivingwage.com/make-a-donation.
