Committee on Workforce Development meeting, May 12, 2026
- When: Tue, May 12, 2026, 12:30 PM (Chicago time)
- Where: 201A, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on Workforce Development
- Video: https://vimeo.com/1191586511
- Transcript: full text (8,177 words, automatic captions)
Meeting notes
AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.
The Committee on Workforce Development, chaired by Alderperson Michael D. Rodriguez, heard four public commenters and approved its Rule 45 report. It passed resolution R2026-0024901, sponsored by Alderperson Daniel La Spata, calling on Congress to pass and the President to sign the Living Wage for Musicians Act of 2025, after testimony from musicians about low streaming royalties. The committee accepted a substitute to Alderperson Walter R. Burnett ordinance amending the One Fair Wage provisions of Chapter 6-105, which freezes the tipped-wage credit at 24 percent for two years and gives small businesses a longer phase-in while keeping a path to the full minimum wage. Both the Illinois Restaurant Association and One Fair Wage said they could live with the compromise, and the committee recommended the substitute ordinance for passage at the May 20 City Council meeting.
Topics: Living Wage for Musicians Act, Streaming royalties, One Fair Wage, Tipped minimum wage, Small businesses, Restaurant industry
Agenda items discussed
- 13:58 Approval of the Rule 45 report: passed
- 14:20 Resolution calling on Congress to pass and the President to sign the Living Wage for Musicians Act of 2025 (R2026-0024901): passed
- 29:13 Substitute ordinance amending Chapter 6-105 modifying timelines for employer allowance minimums in tipped hourly wage occupations: passed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Michael D. Rodriguez (chair): Noted that both the restaurant industry and worker advocates said they can live with the substitute and support the effort. (42:12)
- Daniel La Spata (alderperson): Said unions fight for everyone affected by their work and that a song must be streamed over 300 times for its creator to earn a penny, which is not fair. (14:48); Described the act as creating a new royalty system funded by streaming revenue that would raise per-stream royalties. (15:40); Told Alderperson Nicholas Sposato that the federal legislation specifies how royalties are divided between featured and non-featured artists. (24:04)
- Nicholas Sposato (alderperson): Asked how streaming royalties would be divided among members of a band versus the songwriter. (22:21); Said he finds the substitute difficult to support but values compromise, noting he was a tipped worker for 37 years and that tips are going down. (47:26); Urged council members and the public to tip generously, including at fundraisers and banquets. (48:15)
- Andre Vasquez Jr. (alderperson): Drawing on his past as a recording artist, said artists have long been taken advantage of by label deals and streaming payouts. (25:01); Advocated that minimum wages be indexed to inflation. (27:31); Thanked both sides for reaching a compromise on the tipped-wage ordinance and urged support for struggling businesses. (50:00)
- Walter R. Burnett (alderperson): Said the substitute is a compromise after a proposal to freeze the tip credit at 24 percent raised concerns from worker advocates. (30:21); Said BACP must enforce against wage theft and the city needs data on the policy's impact on the restaurant industry. (31:37); Said the substitute freezes the tip credit at 24 percent for two years and gives small businesses a four-year ramp while keeping a path to the full minimum wage. (32:00)
- Marty Quinn (alderperson): Said as a border ward next to suburbs, leveling the playing field matters for attracting restaurants, and welcomed the compromise. (42:46)
- David H. Moore (alderperson): Said he supported the original ordinance but adjusted after tipped workers in his ward told him they were receiving less in tips. (43:55); Asked the restaurant industry to stop automatic gratuities for small parties, saying they lead customers to leave no additional tip. (45:24)
- Jessica L. Fuentes (alderperson): As original sponsor of One Fair Wage, said she remains committed to phasing out the subminimum wage while recognizing current economic pressures. (50:51); Said no party is fully happy with the compromise, but it keeps the phase-out and gives small businesses a longer ramp-up, and she hopes this ends relitigation of the issue. (51:56)
Exchanges between members
- 24:04 La Spata answered Sposato's question on how royalties are divided.
- 24:55 Vasquez thanked La Spata for introducing the resolution.
- 32:53 Burnett thanked Quinn for working on the compromise.
- 32:57 Burnett thanked Fuentes for working on the compromise.
- 32:59 Burnett thanked Rodriguez for working on the compromise.
- 33:36 Rodriguez thanked Burnett for his engagement on the ordinance.
- 42:35 Quinn congratulated Burnett on his work on the compromise.
- 46:30 Moore thanked Burnett for his leadership.
- 50:28 Fuentes thanked Burnett for work on the substitute.
- 50:36 Fuentes thanked Quinn for work on the substitute.
- 50:39 Fuentes thanked the chair, Rodriguez, for work on the substitute.