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America Got a Raise Today |
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It’s a big and busy day up here on Capitol Hill and an even bigger day for the millions of minimum wage workers who are set to receive their first raise in more than 10 years. Their hourly pay jumps from $5.15 an hour to $5.85, the first of three raises Congress approved that will bring the rate to $7.25 an hour in 2009. But it hasn’t been easy.
This morning in the Capitol building itself, a number of U.S. House members are taking a few victory laps around a radio row and blogger alley where our progressive allies are chronicling the end of the 10-year-plus roadblock the former Republican congressional majority had thrown in the way of Democrats’ attempts to raise the minimum wage. As a result of Republican roadblocking, the minimum wage now is at its lowest buying power in more than half a century.
Later today, House and Senate leaders, community groups, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and hundreds of workers and allies will hold a celebratory rally on the Senate side of the Hill. We’ll bring you more on that later today.
Rep. Phil Hare (D-Ill.), who spent 13 years cutting linings for men’s suits at a Rock Island clothing factory where he was a union activist and served as president of what is now UNITE HERE Local 617, just dropped by and had this to say:
This will be a huge impact in 20 states. It’s long overdue. It’s too bad we had to wait for 10 years. It speaks volumes about the difference between this Congress and the previous ones. It was great to see the green light go on by my name and I said, “Yeah, we finally passed it.”
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) says the wage hike will be particularly helpful in her district where there are a large number of working women and single mothers in minimum wage jobs.
This will help in my district. The cost of gasoline is over $3.20, the cost of groceries and all food stuffs is going up, the electric bill.
One of the first acts of the new Democratic House majority this year was passing the wage hike Jan. 10, straight with no chaser—in other words, the bill simply boosted the wage by $2.10 an hour, no sweetening tax breaks for business or changes in labor law. Just a simple and long overdue raise for men and women who work real hard for low wages.
That kicked off what some observers—actually, it was us—called a hostage crisis. For 134 days Republican senators held the pay hike hostage. There were filibusters. There were schemes to give big corporate tax breaks to businesses. And, we’re not making this up, there was even an attempt to repeal the minimum wage.
The Senate finally passed the bill May 24, with a trimmed down package of tax breaks, part of a supplemental spending bill for the Iraq war. The 134-day hostage drama by Republican senators was costly. Because the raise was held up by 134 days, a bit of simple math shows the delay tactics cost minimum wage workers $750. (The raise comes in three steps—the first is a 70-cent-an-hour increase, or $5.60 a day, for an eight-hour day, comes to $750.40 for 134 days.)
Although Republicans, with the backing of the Bush White House managed to keep a cap on the minimum wage for years, state legislators and voters went to work. Today 31 states and the District of Columbia have higher minimum wages than the federal level.
Working with ACORN and other community groups, AFL-CIO’s America Needs a Raise campaign led the fight that won ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage in six states. On top of that, the minimum wage mobilization won raises via legislation in 13 states since 2006, including New Mexico, Iowa and Kentucky this year.
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A Living Wage
I just came to work here
To try and make my way
To put an honest day of working
In for honest pay
I’ve filed your files and fixed your food
I’ve swept and mopped your floors
And always you have asked me
To do a little more
Now I worry all I’ve done
Is work my youth away
For a bad back and a beat up car
And bills that I can’t pay
I raised up my children
To do as I have done
But I can’t look them in the eye
When I bring my paycheck home
So I ask you, is this all
That I’ve been working for?
Is the dignity of labor
Just to work and still be poor?
I just came to work here
Not to be your slave
How the hell can you refuse
To pay a living wage?
In solidarity,
Chris Pelton
UCW-CWA
United Campus Workers
CWA Local 3865
Knoxville, TN USA
$5.85 to $7.25 by 2009! This is sad. By the time we get to 2009 it won’t be work 50 cents in real value. We need a leap in pay that is a real leap—to $30.00 an hour for all working people with universal health care and free job training and education. Why are we suppose to accept limitations in a country that claims to promise so much? Start union organizing for better pay and work conditions! Fight the bosses. See http://www.hilliardbooks.net and try union organizing on for size. Then let’s do it!
This is good. Now we only have to work 2 hours a day to pay for our gas to go back and forth to work.
It’s about time Congress passed the minimum wage increase. What the hell have they been doing all this time? It should have gone to $7.25 years ago. The fact that we’re settling for 3 mini raises just shows how little Congress cares about working people in this country. Let’s start the America Needs a Much Bigger Raise campaign tomorrow!
Yes we Americans got a raise today. Some retailer have announced they will be raising prices by 5%. That’ a raise for all of us.
Wow, now I can afford to supersize my drink and fries.
Anyone has any idea what the cost of gas per gallon will be in 2009? At $7.25/hour, you have just enough to pay for 2 gallons of gas in California at this time. Unless you are driving a Prius, you may spend 1/8 or more of your daily wage for transportation to and from work. For those people who live in states controlled by Republican lawmakers, make sure you let them know how well they have served working Americans in the coming elections.
What the heck is wrong with this great country “for the people”. When is the last time congress passed a raise for themselves at duh $7.50 a lifelong hour!???! When was the last time they tried to raise a family or even feed themselves alone for that matter on such income. This country creates criminals out of our citizens who start out with integrity and good honest intentions to be a good person. What do you really need money for after all the bills are paid? Why do people accumulate instead of help others. For a rainy day? That’s what your neighbors are for..the ones we help…to help us on our rainy days. Haven’t people figured it out yet..we all die. Isn’t anyone curious what this life really is about? What’s so hard about fair pay and passing rules and make that possible? Doesn’t anyone have a heart anymore? I think that if people got fair pay they would work for it and the jails and psychologists office would clear out.