Commissioners Ellis and Briones Announce Major Minimum Wage Boost for Workers

March 27, 2025, | Houston, TX

Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Lesley Briones, joined by County Attorney Christian Menefee and a coalition of labor leaders, announced a bold proposal on Thursday to raise the county’s minimum wage and create better jobs for working families across the region.

Speaking outside Commissioners Court, Commissioners Ellis and Briones unveiled agenda item 462, which calls for increasing the minimum wage to $21.65 an hour for county-contracted workers and $20 an hour for county employees. The policy also includes an annual adjustment based on the living wage scale developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to ensure wages keep pace with the cost of living.

The announcement was strongly backed by labor leaders, including Elsa Flores, president of SEIU Texas, and Linda Morales, president of the Gulf Coast AFL-CIO, along with representatives from the Communication Workers of America, Unite HERE, the Workers Defense Project, and Harris County Essential Workers Board Chair Kara Levy.

If approved by Commissioners Court, the measure would mark one of the most significant wage increases for public sector workers in Harris County’s history, potentially setting a new standard for equitable pay and job quality across the region.