$10 minimum wage implemented by Kansas City Public Library

The Kansas City Public Library announced Thursday that it is raising the minimum starting wage for employees to $10 an hour, greater than the Missouri minimum of $7.70.

The step, effective immediately, puts the library in step with 69 percent of Kansas City voters who earlier this month supported a petition initiative to raise the minimum wage in the city. A state law that takes effect Monday forbids cities from setting their own minimum wage above the state minimum.

But the Kansas City Council last week unanimously passed a resolution calling on city government and local businesses to voluntarily implement higher wages.

“In addition to being a fair living wage which will help our staff, the library also believes it will enhance our ability to recruit and retain employees,” library director Crosby Kemper III said in a statement announcing the higher wage.

“We, along with the city and the voters, believe it is a fair living wage — or at least the start of one,” Kemper said. “It is just the right thing to do.”

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 3:42 PM with the headline "$10 minimum wage implemented by Kansas City Public Library."