BACKGROUND

Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Rep. David E. Bonior (D-MI) are the lead sponsors of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 1998 (S. 1805/H.R. 3510), introduced on March 19, 1998. The legislation would increase the federal minimum wage by 50 cents in 1999 and 50 cents in 2000 to $6.15 an hour. The bill also has the support of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-MO), and President Bill Clinton.

The Senate is expected to take action first, but Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) has so far refused to put the bill on the schedule for consideration. If that situation continues, Senator Kennedy and Minority Leader Daschle are prepared to delay action on other legislation favored by the majority by attempting to attach the Fair Minimum Wage Act to bills as they are brought to the Senate floor. To do so, 60 votes may be needed. With only 45 Democrats in the Senate, a number of Republicans are needed to ensure victory.

Senate action on the Fair Minimum Wage Act could take place in July, following the July 4^th congressional recess, but is more likely following the August recess in September.

ALABAMA: Richard C. Shelby: Telephone 202-224-5744; Fax 202-224-3416; Email senator@shelby.senate.gov.

ALASKA: Ted Stevens: Telephone 202-224-3004; Fax 202-224-2354; Email senator_stevens@stevens.senate.gov.

COLORADO: Ben Nighthorse Campbell: Telephone 202-224-5852; Fax 202-224-1933; Email adminstrator@campbell.senate.gov.

MAINE: Susan M. Collins: Telephone 202-224-2523; Fax 202-224-2693; Email senator@collins.senate.gov;
Olympia J. Snowe: Telephone 202-224-5344; Fax 202-224-1946; Email olympia@snowe.senate.gov.

NEW YORK: Alphonse M. D’Amato: Telephone 202-224-6542; Fax 202-224-5871; Email   senator_al@damato.senate.gov.

OREGON: Robert C. Smith: Telephone 202-224-2841; Fax 202-224-1353; Email opinion@smith.senate.gov. (Note: See information on Oregon’s recent minimum wage increase under "Additional Information to Enhance your Advocacy.")

PENNSYLVANIA: Arlen Specter: Telephone 202-224-4254; Fax 202-228-1229; Email senator_specter@specter.senate.gov.

RHODE ISLAND: John H. Chafee: Telephone 202-224-2921; Fax Not Listed; Email senator_chafee@chafee.senate.gov.

VERMONT: James M. Jeffords: Telephone 202-224-5141; Fax 202-228-0338; Email vermont@jeffords.senate.gov.

By District Visit. Many Senators will spend time in their home states during both the July 4^th and August congressional recesses.

The Senate will be in recess June 27-July 5 and August 1-September 7. Call your Senator’s district or Washington office to schedule meetings (ask for the scheduler) or attend open forums in which you can ask for support for increasing the minimum wage.

By Telephone. Telephone numbers are listed above. Sample verbal message below.

When you call, ask to speak to the staff person handling the minimum wage issue. If staff is unavailable, leave a message on voice mail or with the receptionist.

By Letter. Fax numbers (where available) and e-mail addresses listed above. Sample letter below. Surface mail address for all Senators: The Honorable (first name, last name), United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510.

As a professional social worker knowledgeable about the economic struggles faced by low-wage workers (or on behalf of the (number) members of the (state) Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers), I am calling to urge Senator (last name) to support passage of the Fair Minimum Wage Act. Families headed by minimum wage workers who work full-time, full-year should not live below the federal poverty level, as they do now. The massive loss of jobs predicted prior to the last minimum wage increase failed to materialize. Instead, millions of workers and their families benefited. According to the Economic Policy Institute, (percentage) of (state’s) workforce, or (number affected) workers will benefit from the proposed increase.** I hope the Senator will support passage of the bill to ensure that (his/her) constituents who work hard, day in and day out, are more fairly compensated.

Economic Policy Institute Information

• Alabama: 11.7 percent of workforce; 211,217 workers.
• Alaska: 3.2 percent of workforce; 8,074 workers.
• Colorado: 6.0 percent of workforce; 109,088 workers.
• Maine: 7.9 percent of workforce; 41,970 workers.
• New York: 7.1 percent of workforce; 523,458 workers.
• ** Oregon: Not applicable due to recent increase in state minimum wage. (Oregonians can replace the last two sentences in the verbal message with the following: "Recent increases in Oregon’s minimum wage bear this out. I hope the Senator will vote for increasing the federal minimum wage so that workers in other states can enjoy similar benefits." Proposed replacement for last two sentences in sample letter: "Recent increases in Oregon’s minimum wage have benefited thousands of families. I hope you will support an increase in the federal minimum wage so workers in other states can enjoy similar benefits.")
• Pennsylvania: 8.7 percent of workforce; 441,088 workers.
• Rhode Island: 8.3 percent of workforce; 35,740 workers.
• Vermont: 7.5 percent of workforce; 19,368 workers.

Date

The Honorable (first name, last name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator (last name):

As a professional social worker (or on behalf of the (number) members of the (state) Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers), I urge you to support an increase in the federal minimum wage by voting for the Fair Minimum Wage Act.

The bill would increase the minimum wage by 50 cents in 1999 and 50 cents in 2000 to $6.15 an hour. The last increase in the minimum wage, to $5.15 an hour on September 1, 1996, benefited over 10 million workers and failed to result in increased unemployment as opponents had predicted. But even at $5.15 a hour, an employee working full-time, full-year still earns $2,900 below the federal poverty level for a family of three.

The year of 1998 is an ideal time to build on last year’s increase. The economy remains strong, but its benefits are not being distributed fairly. From 1979-1995 real family income increased by 26 percent for earners in the top 20 percent, but fell by nine percent for earners in the bottom 20 percent. As a result, more adults and families are being forced to seek emergency assistance. A study by Second Harvest, a nationwide network of food banks, found that 39 percent of households seeking emergency food aid had at least one member who was working.

As professional social workers, we believe that full-time, full-year workers earning the minimum wage should not be forced to raise their families in poverty. According to the Economic Policy Institute, (percentage) of (state’s) workforce, or (number affected) workers will benefit from the proposed increase. ** I hope you will support passage of the bill as a small step in ensuring economic justice for (state’s) working men and women and their families.

Sincerely,

Low-wage workers need a raise. Nationwide, soup kitchens, food pantries and homeless shelters are increasingly serving the working poor -- not just the unemployed. According to a study by Second Harvest, a nationwide network of food banks:

• In 1997, 39 percent of households seeking emergency food aid had at least one member who was working.
• Low-paying jobs are the most-frequently cited cause of hunger -- nearly half of those relying on emergency food aid do so because their earnings are too low.

Despite the robust economy, low-income families continue to face extreme problems in the most basic of economic transactions: paying the rent. A study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which covered the expansion years of 1993 to 1995, found that unlike the economic expansion of the 1980s, when the rental burdens of the poor lightened, this time they showed no improvement.

• In 1993, 4.1 million poor families spent more than half their income on rent and utilities. By 1995, that figure had grown to 4.4 million.
• In 1993, the count of needy families outnumbered affordable apartments by 3.8 million. But by 1995, the gap grew to 4.4 million.

A full-time minimum wage earner earns $10,712 a year -- $2,900 below the poverty level for a family of three.

Increasing the minimum wage by $1 an hour only will restore its purchasing power to its mid-1970’s level. To have the purchasing power it had in 1968, the minimum wage would have to be $7.33 an hour today.

Sixty percent of minimum wage earners are women; nearly three-fourths are adults; three-fifths are the sole breadwinners in their families; and more than half work full time.

Opponents typically claim an increase in the minimum wage will cause jobs to be lost and businesses to collapse. The fact is that in the time that has passed since the most recent increases in the federal minimum wage -- a 50-cent increase on October 1, 1996 and a 40-cent increase on September 1, 1997 -- employment has increased in all sectors of the population.

• Since September 1996, 700,000 new retail jobs have been added, including 200,000 restaurant jobs.
• Teenage unemployment rates have declined by 1.3 percentage points. Unemployment among African-Americans has declined by one percentage point.
• Eric Sklar, CEO, Burrito Brothers, Inc. (Mexican fast food restaurant chain with nine stores in Washington, DC and Northern Virginia): "Since the last increase in the minimum wage passed, my company has doubled in size. This means fifty new jobs were created, many of them minimum wage jobs. We have increased our prices only once in the last three years. So, anecdotally and empirically, it is clear that increasing the minimum wage does not cost jobs or contribute to inflation. ... I want to help my minimum wage workers earn a decent living, but I can’t compete if my competitors are paying less. I just want a level playing field."

In a February 1998 letter to President Clinton, 16 economists cited the benefits of the previous increase in endorsing the latest proposal to raise the minimum wage: "We believe that the 1996 and 1997 increases had a beneficial effect not only on those whose earnings were increased by 90 cents an hour but also on the economy as a whole. Billions in added consumer demand helped fuel our expanding economy in those years."

A study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that recent increases in the state minimum wage in Oregon substantially increased the earnings of parents leaving welfare for low-paid employment.

• During the three years prior to 1997, when Oregon’s minimum wage remained at $4.75 an hour, the average starting wage of welfare recipients who moved into work fell five percent, adjusting for inflation.
• After Oregon’s minimum wage rose in two stages to $6.00 an hour in January 1998, the average earnings of newly-employed welfare recipients climbed 76 cents an hour, a nine percent increase after adjusting for inflation.
• The Oregon minimum wage increase helped not only those earning the minimum wage, but also those finding jobs paying slightly above the minimum wage, with no adverse effect on employment opportunities.