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News :: Civil & Human Rights : Elections & Legislation : Labor : Political-Economy |
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Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2005 |
Current rating: 0 |
by Campaign for a Fair Minimum Wage
(No verified email address) |
19 May 2005
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In the eight years since the last minimum wage increase, members of the Congress have voted to give themselves salary increases of almost $30,000; but they refuse to give the working poor an increase in the federal minimum wage. |
The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2005, introduced today in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, would give low-income working Americans their first wage increase in 8 years.
During that time, the members of the Congress have voted to give themselves salary increases of almost $30,000; but they refuse to give the working poor an increase in the federal minimum wage.
While the average hourly earnings of America's manufacturing work force have increased from $12.50 in 1997 to $15.80 in 2005, minimum wage workers - doing responsible and important jobs like day care, nursing home care, teaching assistants - have been stuck at $5.15/hour.
Additionally, the value of the minimum wage is at its second lowest level in the last 45 years. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2005 would increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25/hour by 2007.clearly, by any standard, a modest increase over a reasonable period of time. Such an increase would help approximately 7 million working Americans feed their families, pay their rent, or continue their schooling.
And, in spite of all the rhetoric from business interests who reflexively oppose increasing the minimum wage, never in the history of minimum wage increases - a period of 67 years - has anyone or any statistic been able to show economic damage from modest, periodic increases in the minimum wage.
The Campaign for a Fair Minimum Wage, a project of Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), is a coalition of church, labor, and social welfare organizations whose public policy agendas include support for an overdue increase in the federal minimum wage. With more than 200 organizations in its ranks, the Campaign supports the efforts of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Congressman George Miller (D-CA), chief sponsors of the minimum wage legislation, to bring a tangible benefit to the families of lower wage working Americans.
Without the passage of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2005, minimum wage workers will fall further and further down the income scale; with each passing year, the purchasing power of the $5.15/hour minimum wage declines. Failure to pass this legislation in this Congress would condemn a large segment of the working population to a continuing decline in their living standard.
"The Congress must ask itself: how long can we as a society support the reality of people who work hard every day earning a wage that keeps them in poverty?" decried Jane O'Grady, Executive Director. |
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Many Minimum Wage Workers Ages 25 to 54 Trapped in Low-Wage Jobs |
by CEPR
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
19 May 2005
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Women, non-native and non-union workers have most difficulty moving up
More than one-third of prime-age minimum wage workers remain in low-wage jobs for at least three years, according to a new study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
The report, "No Way Out: How Prime-Age Workers Get Trapped in Minimum Wage Jobs," shows that prime-age workers (ages 25 to 54) get stuck in minimum wage jobs, especially during periods of relatively high unemployment and limited wage growth. Most minimum wage workers are between the ages of 25 and 54, and a minimum wage earner provides, on average, 68 percent of their total family income.
While prior research has focused on whether all U.S. workers are likely to move out of minimum wage jobs, the CEPR study focused on prime-age workers. It found that 36.6 percent of prime-age workers in minimum wage jobs are still earning minimum wage after three years. The probability of moving out of a minimum wage job was higher for men, native-born citizens, those with union jobs, and those that change occupations.
"Moving into a job that pays more than the minimum wage is critical for families trying to become part of the middle class," said Heather Boushey, CEPR economist and author of the study. "However, many prime-age minimum wage workers remain stuck in low-wage jobs."
The minimum wage has not been increased since 1997. Since then, although the minimum wage has remained at $5.15 in nominal terms, its value has fallen by nearly a sixth in inflation-adjusted terms. A full-time, full-year worker at the minimum wage earns just $10,300, putting them below the poverty threshold of $13,020 for a one-parent, one-child family. Further, most workers employed at or near the minimum wage are not offered (or cannot afford) health insurance from their employer.
Senator Edward Kennedy and Rep. George Miller are introducing legislation today that would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. "The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2005" would raise the minimum wage in three steps: 1) $5.85: 60 days after enactment; 2) $6.55: one year later; and 3) $7.25: one year after that.
Boushey recommends that policymakers who want to focus on eradicating poverty should create policies that generate high levels of employment and low unemployment, which will provide more opportunities for low-wage workers to move up the job ladder and put pressure on wages at the low end, as occurred during the late 1990s.
"Minimum wage, a policy designed to ensure an adequate floor for wages, has eroded so much that it is now something to be escaped," said Boushey. "Unfortunately, many adults are not able to escape minimum wage work, especially if they are female, non-native, or not lucky enough to have a union job."
http://www.cepr.net/ |
