Mayor Rick Kriseman

Mayor Kriseman  

St. Petersburg is planning to introduce a $12.50 per hour minimum wage for all city workers.

Mayor Rick Kriseman announced at a news conference this morning the city will adopt the new minimum wage beginning Jan. 1. That will mean a pay raise for about 70 city workers who earn below that amount, including library assistants, sanitation workers, custodians and laborers. Increasing their pay will cost about $125,000.

Calling it "a step in the right direction," Mayor Rick Kriseman on Tuesday proposed raising the minimum wage for city workers to $12.50 an hour.

Flanked by Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin, City Council members and community organizers on the steps of City Hall, Kriseman also announced support for the "ban the box" initiative, which eliminates job candidates from automatically having to disclose previous arrests on city job applications beginning Jan. 1. (Background checks for public safety and other sensitive positions will remain in place, and all hires will continue to be checked for criminal convictions.)

A city on the rise that does not ensure everyone benefits won't rise for long. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, with four City Council members standing with him, announced two modest initiatives Tuesday that could have a huge impact on the pocketbooks and livelihoods of some of the city's lowest-income residents. The city's lowest-paid workers can now make a bit more, and felons will no longer have to immediately identify themselves as such when applying for a city government job. That increases the odds that job applicants will be judged based on their talents, not just their pasts. This is how a city grows best, with opportunity for all.

Mayor Rick Kriseman and Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin announced their initiatives for fair hiring practices in St. Petersburg today. They pledge for St. Pete  to be a "City of Opportunity." On January 1st, 2015, they are "banning the box." There will no longer be a box on job applications requiring individuals to disclose prior convictions. Ban the Box, founded in 2004 has already been adopted in 70 cities and states. It is a nationwide campaign to end discriminatory hiring practices. It provides a way for job seekers to display themselves, their skill sets and potential. It will make it easier for them to reintegrate into society as working class, tax paying citizens.

Wednesday, October 22

At a news conference Tuesday, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman invoked a phrase foreign to most, but all too familiar to some:

"We are banning the box," Kriseman announced, drawing scattered applause from the small gathering.

"The box" refers to the "Yes/No" question found on most job applications, asking about criminal history.

Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman are about to get dirty.

The mayors will lead a group of volunteers and city officials from the neighboring cities Saturday in a cleanup of 49th Street.

Mayor Rick Kriseman and Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin announced Tuesday their "City of Opportunity" initiative to eliminate the box on applications that requires job seekers to reveal prior criminal convictions.

"We are banning the box," Kriseman said in a formal announcement from the steps of City Hall, which garnered much applause from the small crowd gathered outside. "To those interested in working for the city, that little check box on the city's application that requires an applicant to disclose whether they've been convicted of a crime will be going away on January 1."

There are many elements in the 2020 plan to tackle poverty in south St. Petersburg over the next five years. Several are extremely ambitious and others, such as a goal to add 200 jobs for at-risk youth in 2015, appear seemingly more modest in scope.

The "200 in 2015" campaign formally kicked off this morning at the Mt. Zion Progressive MB Church in Midtown, featuring Mayor Rick Kriseman, City Councilman Wengay Newton, and a host of program "partners," including  officials with the Urban League, the Pinellas Opportunity Council and others.        

Organizers of the much-talked-about 2020 Plan have officially kicked off their five-year effort to reduce poverty in the city's poorest neighborhoods by 30 percent.

Mayor Rick Kriseman and City Council member Wengay Newton joined several community leaders Thursday morning at Mt. Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church to tout the plan and announce one of its first initiatives: a campaign to get 200 more youth jobs next year.

Kriseman has pledged other support for the arts, including beefing up the city's marketing budget and allocating $50,000 to the Arts Alliance, a group that supports for-profit studios and galleries. 

If you can read this, you can come to Saturday morning's Mayors' 49th Street Cleanup. Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman will join the Gulfport Neighbors and the Childs Park Neighborhood Association in a joint cleanup of 49th Street.

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