Minimum Wage: ‘Take This Pay and Shove It’

by Mike Hall, Aug 21, 2006

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the last time the federal minimum wage was raised. The 10 long years minimum wage workers have earned just $5.15 an hour shows the “skewed priorities” of the Republican-controlled Congress, writes AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on The Hill, the blog recently launched by the influential congressional insider newspaper The Hill.

Says Sweeney in the Aug. 20 post:

If ever an issue clearly showed the skewed priorities of this Congress’ leadership, it’s the minimum wage. Two weeks ago the Senate rightly rejected a cynical ploy by Republican leadership to poison the current minimum wage increase with yet more massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans…

…While Republican leadership plays games with the minimum wage, real working families are struggling mightily to make ends meet. Ten years ago a gallon of gas cost working people $1.11. Today low-wage workers are faced with gas prices north of $3 per gallon. The majority of these workers are adults who significantly contribute to their family’s overall income…

…The debate over the minimum wage increase is a debate about American values. Will the Republican leadership continue down a path that unfairly rewards the ultra-rich and leaves working people out in the cold?

When Congress returns to work after Labor Day, Sweeney says its first priority should be raising the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. That message was carried yesterday in Louisville, Ky., by 100 union and community activists at a rally to mark the 10 years since the minimum wage was raised.

As Kentucky State AFL-CIO President William Londrigan said at the rally:

It’s time to take this pay and shove it!

The AFL-CIO America Needs a Raise campaign has brought together union, community and religious groups to fight for minimum wage increases in the states through ballot initiatives and legislation and for federal legislation that Republican congressional leaders continue to hold hostage.

At the Louisville rally, Shanika Bell, who earns $5.15 an hour as a McDonald’s cashier, said:

If you work hard, you should be able to support your family’s basic needs.

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