Congress Skips New Minimum Wage Bill

By Althea Thompson, 10.11.06

Anticipation of pay increase for low-wage workers fizzles, leaving the issue of raising minimum wage unresolved as Congress recesses. With the recess approaching and key legislation still on the agenda, this issue will be put on hold.

The Senate rejected a proposal to raise the minimum wage nationally to $7.25 by 2008. The issue is on the agenda again this year and may not be resolved.

“If the minimum wage was raised, I would be more financially stable,” said Jennifer Swink, an employee of Heaven & Earth, a Christian bookstore in Virginia.

Through ballot initiatives and legislative actions, more than twenty states raised their own rates, so workers could earn more than the federal wage.

Yet Virginia is a free market state which allows employers to determine how much more they pay than the federal rate of $5.15.

“Many people actually make more than $5.15 an hour,” said Sam Potter, manager of a Quiznos Sub franchise in Virginia Beach.

Potter says that a chain such as Quiznos Sub might not see a great deficit if the rate was raised.

On the other hand, the low-wage job market could become more competitive for smaller companies.

“People pick jobs they would rather not do, just because they pay more,” said Angel Justice, manager at Movie Gallery.

“Places like McDonalds and Wal-Mart pay much more than the minimum wage. And it makes it harder for companies like us, who pay less, to hire,” Justice added.

Large companies also have the advantage of being able to provide employee benefits to part-time workers, which is something the smaller companies can’t afford.

In a statement on walmartfacts.com, Wal-Mart announced, on August 7, 2006, that it raised the starting rate for employees in more than 1,200 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores throughout the country. But that wasn’t all.

Competitive benefits like health care, 401k and profit sharing for hourly associates are provided to Wal-Mart’s employees.

“People stand in line to apply for Wal-Mart jobs,” said Susan Chambers, executive vice president of the People Division for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Both Parties Agree: Minimum Wage Not a Priority

“The fast-approaching recess and the Republicans’ focus on national security legislation make it inevitable that much of the remainder will fall by the wayside,” said a New York Times report.

The article also said Republicans chose to consentrate on legislations emphasizing their security credentials. Bills governing interrogations and National Security Agency surveillance programs were first on their list of priorities.

Republicans turned the blame back on the Democratic Party.

“With obstruction from the Democrats at an all-time high, we have focused on four security issues in an effort to enact some solid, substantive accomplishments,” said Eric M. Ueland, chief of staff to Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, in the same report.

Each party refuses to take responsibility and meanwhile, “The cost of living has risen 26 percent, but the minimum rate of compensation hasn’t seen a value this low since 1955,” said Candace Corner of CareerBuilder.com.

“The U.S is currently in the second-longest freeze in wage growth since the establishment of the minimum wage in 1938,” Corner said.