Even Business Leaders Support a Minimum Wage Boost

by Tula Connell, Nov 6, 2006

Now even business owners will admit what the Republican majority in Congress won’t: Raising the minimum wage is good for business.

In a statement released Nov. 3, business owners, executives and venture capitalists around the nation—including the states where minimum wage is on the ballot Nov. 7—call for raising the wage floor above the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour to pay workers fairly, boost business and strengthen the economy.

The Business Owners and Executives for a Higher Minimum Wage statement is here, along with inaugural signatories. Sign-ons are continuing through Let Justice Roll, a national partnership of more than 80 organizations working for a higher minimum wage.

Says Paul Lightfoot, CEO of AL Systems Inc.:

As a productivity adviser to major retailers, I’ve witnessed how inadequate
wages can create a vicious cycle of high turnover and low productivity,
which is bad for workers and businesses.

Frustrated by the congressional refusal to acknowledge that $5.15 an hour is too little to live on, the AFL-CIO union movement has spearheaded the America Needs a Raise campaign to raise the minimum wage at the state and federal levels. The campaign has provided momentum to put the issue on the ballot Nov. 7 in six states—Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Ohio. Hear more about the AFL-CIO’s campaign to raise the minimum wage from MP3 audio at left and check out Two Guys on the minimum wage, one in a video series highlighting comments from two union members on the state of the nation.

The AFL-CIO also partnered with ACORN for a video blog (vlog) event, “7 Days @ Minimum Wage” hosted by actress Roseanne Barr and featuring interviews with seven workers describing life at or near the federal minimum wage.

Congress gave itself nine pay raises over the same 10-year time span it refused to raise the federal minimum wage, boosting Congress members’ annual wage by more than $30,000 a year. But business leaders recognize the recklessness of policies that prohibit workers from supporting their families and ultimately, their communities. In the statement, business owners write:

We expect an increased minimum wage to provide a boost to local economies.
Businesses and communities will benefit as low-wage workers spend their
much-needed pay raises at businesses in the neighborhoods where they live
and work.

At $5.15 an hour, today’s minimum wage workers have less buying power than minimum wage workers had half a century ago. We cannot build a strong 21st century economy on a 1950s’ wage floor. We cannot build a strong 21st century economy when more and more hardworking Americans struggle to make ends meet.

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