Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato speaks at her inauguration on Jan. 2, at the Byham Theater in downtown Pittsburgh. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
Full-time county employees will earn at least $22 per hour by 2027, Innamorato announced on her first full day as Allegheny County executive.
by Charlie Wolfson, PublicSource
Allegheny County executive Sara Innamorato made quick work of setting herself apart from her predecessor Wednesday, announcing a wage hike for potentially hundreds of county employees.
Innamorato’s new policy, which sets a wage floor for full-time county workers at $18 per hour in 2024 and $22 per hour by 2027, is similar to a 2023 law passed by County Council then overturned by a court challenge filed by the administration of then-Executive Rich Fitzgerald.
Innamorato said on the campaign trail she supported the bill, and made good on that statement just a day after she was sworn in as Fitzgerald’s successor. She said the new policy is vital to retaining and attracting workers to carry out the work of county government.
“Once I learned we had 1,000 open positions at the county, I knew improving our workforce pay and benefits was going to be an immediate action for my administration,” Innamorato said at a press conference outside her County Courthouse office.
It’s unclear exactly how many employees will benefit from the action, though Innamorato’s spokesperson said “hundreds” of employees will see an increase when the $22 floor goes into effect. A PublicSource analysis showed that more than 1,000 full-time employees earned less than that in 2022, though some may have received raises since then.
Innamorato also announced a new wage floor for part-time workers, increased from $12 to $15 per hour.
The increases will not immediately affect union workers, though Innamorato indicated equivalent hikes would be incorporated into each union’s next collective bargaining agreement. Thousands of county workers are unionized, encompassing public safety workers and service workers, among others.