Senate Democrats: Kill Congress’ Pay Hike if It Doesn’t Raise the Minimum Wage

by Mike Hall, Jun 28, 2006

If Republican congressional leaders don’t get off the dime and pass a real increase in the $5.15-an-hour federal minimum wage, Senate Democrats vowed yesterday to kill a congressional pay raise set for Jan. 1

Meanwhile, a new study of the difference between CEO pay and minimum wage earnings shows CEO pay continues to soar out of this world, while minimum wage workers are stuck on the same 1997 $5.15-an-hour launching pad.

U.S. House and Senate lawmakers earn nowhere near what CEOs do—but $165,200 a year is nothing to sneeze at—and they’re set to get their ninth pay raise since 1997 with a $3,300 increase due at the first of the year. That’s more than a nearly $35,000-a-year increase since the last time the minimum wage was raised.

During that same time, Republican leaders have blocked dozens of attempts to raise the minimum wage, including several this year to increase it by $2.10 an hour to $7.25 an hour.

Senate Democratic leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said yesterday:

We’re going to do anything it takes to stop the congressional pay raise this year. Congress is going to have earn its raise by putting American workers first: A raise for workers before a raise for Congress.

He didn’t outline specific measures Democrats may use to roadblock the raise but did say:

We can stop anything they (Republicans) try to do with a congressional pay raise.

Last week, a minimum wage increase won 52 votes in the Senate, but because of Republican leaders’ parliamentary maneuvering, it needed 60 votes to pass.

House Republican leaders continue to block a vote on an appropriations bill that has a minimum wage increase of $2.10 attached and defeated a move by House Democrats to add a minimum wage amendment to another appropriations bill today.

After the July 4 recess, reports say Senate Republican leaders will bring the House-passed repeal of the estate tax on estates worth as much as $10 million and tax cuts for larger estates to a vote after the recess. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) likely will offer a minimum wage increase as an amendment to the estate tax bill.

But it looks like Congress will leave town this week for their July 4 recess without moving on a pay raise for minimum wage workers—who probably couldn’t afford to take a long lunch, let alone a congressional-length long “weekend”—10 days this time.

While lawmakers can afford a luxury vacation, CEOs can buy the resort and leave some generous tips for the minimum wage workers who bring them their drinks and towels.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) says in 2005, the average CEO made 821 times as much as a minimum wage worker. Round that off and you’ve got an annual $8.8 million paycheck for a CEO versus a minimum wage workers’ $10,712 a year.

EPI charted the pay differences from 1965 to 2005 and the gap has climbed like kudzu up a southern scrub pine in August. In 1965, when the minimum wage was $1.25 an hour, CEOs earned just 51 times more than minimum wage workers, or about $132,000 versus $2,600 a year. A big difference but not close to the obscene levels of 2005.

In 1978 when the minimum wage climbed to $2.65 an hour, CEOs were earning 78 times as much, or broken down hourly, about $206 an hour. In 1997, the last time the minimum wage was raised, the pay differential was about 450-to-1 or $4.8 million a year for the big boss to $10,712 for the little guy.

While folks who sweep the floors and guard the doors are still making the same money as they did in 1997, the people in the top floor, corner offices are pocketing an extra $4 million a year. Now that’s an obscene difference. It’s even worse than the numbers show because the buying power of the minimum wage is at lowest point in more than 50 years.

We’ll keep you posted on congressional action, or inaction, but meanwhile click here to see what’s going on in state campaigns to raise the minimum wage.

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