RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — While full-time city employees saw their wages increase to $20.00 an hour earlier this year, contracted workers like Latrease Gregory are still making just $15.00 an hour.
“Right now, I’m living paycheck to paycheck,” Gregory, who works as a day porter at the Southside Social Services building, said. “The struggle is real. I’m 51. I can’t afford my own apartment.”
Gregory is one of about 200 workers hired through third-party contractors to clean and secure city-owned buildings. Unlike government employees, she said these contracted workers don’t receive city benefits or guaranteed wage increases…