Reason

Call your respective Senators at the Capitol Switchboard (202-224-3121), and urge them to vote for the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2003 (S.224) or any procedural motion that allows the bill to be considered.

Issue

Senators Thomas Daschle (D-SD) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) reintroduced S.224 on January 28,2003. Currently, the bill has 37 Senate cosponsors and has been placed on the Senate calendar for legislative action.

Legislative Intent

The long history of increases in the federal minimum wage has been basically bipartisan. Enacted by Franklin Roosevelt in 1938, Republicans and Democrats (including Dwight Eisenhower in 1955) have voted for an increase in the minimum wage since the Roosevelt Administration. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2003 would specifically raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.65 over a two-year period. Over this two-year period, wages would increase by $1.50 in increments of .75 cents per year. All Americans combined earn $5.4 trillion a year. At a $1.50 minimum wage increase, this represents less than one-fifth of one percent of the national payroll. Numerous studies have indicated that an increase in the minimum wage has no effect on the unemployment rate, nor does it contribute to inflation. NASW believes that S.224 will appreciably affect the quality of life for women, children, minorities, and families across this great nation by providing meaningful wages that offset poverty levels.

Social Work Action

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is vigorously committed to the alleviation of poverty for women, children, minorities, and families throughout the nation. Sixty-three percent of those who receive the minimum wage are women; while, forty percent of those individuals who earn the minimum wage are men and women of color. It has been seven years since Congress acted on a wage increase. History clearly indicates that raising the minimum wage does not have an adverse effect on the American economy. In the four years after the last minimum wage increase, the economy had its strongest growth in three decades. Nearly eleven million new jobs were added, at a rate of more than 200,000 per month. According to the Economic Policy Institute, nearly 7 million workers would directly benefit from the proposed minimum wage increase. An increase in the minimum wage will aid the neediest Americans who encounter serious economic challenges and adverse quality of life issues. NASW asserts that a fair increase in the minimum wage is long overdue. Please call, write, or e-mail your Senators and encourage them to support S.224.

Contact: Lawrence Moore, III at 202-336-8289.