The Living Wage Coalition of Transylvania County has overseen the certification of
employers who pay a living wage in the County since 2008 as an affiliate of Just Economics of
WNC. It is a crucial part of the largest local living wage program in the nation, and stands out
as a model for rural, grassroots advocacy and action on economic justice for the entire country,
particularly the American South. In addition to its certification program, the Coalition educates,
advocates, and organizes around pro-worker, pro-business policies that work toward a just and
sustainable economy for all in Transylvania County.
Living Wages are more important than ever. Working Transylvanians know that the economy
does not work for working Transylvanians, and they are not wrong. North Carolina has the
lowest federally allowable minimum wage in the country, unchanged since 2009 ($7.25/hr and
$2.13/hr for tipped workers). Its unemployment system is among the lowest and shortest in the
nation, by amount and duration. It was one of the last state hold-outs on the now-endangered
Medicaid expansion at the expense of tens of thousands of caregivers, people with
disabilities, children, the elderly, those living in poverty, and the entire rural healthcare system.
This past July, North Carolina was reported as the state with the 4th highest rate of wage theft
in a national study.
Locally, Transylvania County has drastic wealth inequality, and too many Transylvanians are
living in, or on the brink of poverty. This includes employees of Transylvania County
government, the county’s largest employer, who are the lowest-paid of their peers in all
competing government districts, with too many receiving sub-livable wages. It includes those
working in the tourism and service sector, which often provide irregular scheduling, few
benefits, and subminimum wage. It includes fast food workers, often minors, and
undocumented or migrant workers, who experience some of the highest rates of wage-theft,
which is the most common form of theft in the United States.
Helene exposed the unpreparedness and vulnerability of the WNC economy to extreme stress.
Thousands were displaced, some from high water and others from eviction. Business in the
region missed an entire leaf season, and closures are announced weekly. Workers have
found wages reduced, hours cut, or their jobs eliminated altogether. The North Carolina
General Assembly has passed 5 mediocre relief bills, leaving poor and working western
North Carolinians on their own. The bills have prioritized funding infrastructure and selective
industry, while shirking support for renters and small business owners. In the same year of
tight-fisted relief, the body is accelerating elimination of the income tax which is projected to
cost $13 billion in revenue loss, and dramatically shifts the state’s tax burden away from its
wealthiest contributors to its poorest even more than it already is. This leaves little-to-no room
for meaningful disaster relief for Helene, long-neglected eastern NC disasters, and future
disasters.
An economy that prioritizes living wages for workers is necessary to ensure healthy
growth, stability and prosperity of our local economy, especially for businesses and employers
who rely on a workforce that is not in or near a constant state of distress. That economy is
being built, right here in Transylvania, by the 65 Living Wage Certified employers of over
1100 workers who so far, have given $133,000 in annual raises to Transylvania workers in 2025
alone. It is being built by the City of Brevard, who proudly raised their wage floor for the
second time so that all City employees earn a living wage and have Paid Parental Leave. It is
being built by the teachers and classified staff who form the Transylvania County Association
of Educators, and took time between end-of-year grading and their second jobs to
successfully rally the community to call for their first county supplement increase in 11 years.
A just and sustainable economy for all in Transylvania is being built, and there is plenty of room
for all who wish to help build it. If you own a business, reach out to us to learn how to become
Living Wage Certified. If you shop, hire, make donations to nonprofits locally, make a point to
support a Living Wage Certified employer. Leave them a review online letting them and
others know how much you appreciate them for prioritizing Living Wages. If you are a worker in Transylvania County, take the Transylvania ‘State of Work’ Survey and let us know about
your experience and help shape the narrative about working in Transylvania. If you are a
worker, passionate Living Wage employer, or an engaged consumer or member of the public,
call yourself a member of the Living Wage Coalition of Transylvania County.