BLOOMINGTON - The living wage proposal has support of a majority of Bloomington residents who plan on attending events at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum, according to a public opinion poll released Friday by the Central Illinois Organizing Project.

The organizing project has been pushing Coliseum employees and other city workers to be paid a minimum of $9.81 an hour for several years. The pay rate, called a living wage, based on a 40-hour work week would allow an employee to earn enough money to afford rent on a single-bedroom apartment.

The poll results show 63 percent of the Bloomington residents surveyed think Coliseum and city workers should be paid at least $9 an hour. The poll was conducted by public policy students in professor Greg Shaw's class at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Shaw said the results reinforce results of the poll taken two years ago that city residents seem to want to pay a living wage for city employees. Students surveyed 375 residents March 12-15.

With half the seats on the Bloomington City Council up for election, organizing project member Laurie Bergner said the positions of most of the current aldermen do not reflect public opinion.

"People are ahead of the politicians," Bergner said.

Of the 60 percent surveyed who said they plan to attend an event at the Coliseum in the next year, 76 percent said they would not mind paying an extra 10 to 50 cents per ticket to cover the cost.

In November 2004, the Bloomington City Council voted 5-4 against a proposal to phase in the living wage for Coliseum employees, such as ticket takers and ushers. At the time the living wage for the area was $8.58 an hour.

Coliseum employees start at about $6.75 an hour, 25 cents more than the state's minimum wage.

The organizing project also questioned a practice by Coliseum management to use a temporary employment agency to hire some of its employees.

Jean Pretz said the group recently became aware that people hired by First Staff, a temporary employment agency, received starting pay of $8 an hour. Pretz said the Coliseum is likely paying the agency $10 to $11 an hour to provide those employees.

Coliseum Operations Director Jim Appio said the facility uses five to 10 temporary employees from First Staff to cover absences among the 15 to 20 Coliseum employees assigned to change over the floor between events.

Another 10 to 15 employees are hired from Vonachen's for janitorial service.