Legislation & Politics

Letter to Senators supporting the amendment to increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour

June 19, 2006

Dear Senator:

On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), I strongly urge you to support the amendment to increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour that Senator Kennedy will offer to the Department of Defense Appropriations bill, which is on the Senate floor this week. Raising the minimum wage by anything less than $7.25 would be woefully inadequate. I urge you to reject any proposal that raises the minimum wage by less than $7.25 or is coupled with proposals that cut overtime pay for millions of workers or removes millions of workers from coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FMLA).

The minimum wage has not been raised in nine years. In that time, the value of the federal minimum wage — currently $5.15 an hour — has been eroded by inflation so that its purchasing power in 2006 prices is 20 percent below what it was in 1997, the date of the last increase. To have the purchasing power that it had in 1968, the minimum wage would have to be raised to $9.26 an hour, which is closer but still less than what the minimum wage is in Great Britain or Ireland where millions have been lifted out of poverty because the minimum wage has been raised.

Shamefully, in the U.S., the number of Americans who live in poverty has grown, not shrunk. Today, 5.4 million more Americans live in poverty than lived in poverty in 2000 — the year that President Bush took office. Currently, 37 million Americans live in poverty, including 13 million children. Minimum wage employees working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year earn $10,712 a year. No one can live on $206 a week or $10,712 a year; that is almost $6,000 ($5,888) below the poverty level for a family of three and more than $10,000 below the poverty level for a family of 4.

Raising the minimum wage to $7.25 is a modest and much needed increase. It would mean an additional $4,370 a year — not enough to lift a family of three out of poverty which would require $7.98 an hour.

If the minimum wage was raised to $7.25 an hour, 15.5 million Americans would benefit — 7.3 million directly and another 8.2 million indirectly. And who are these minimum wage workers? Over sixty percent are women; more than two-thirds are adults; more than one-third are their family's sole breadwinner; more than one-third are people of color; and they are the parents of almost 8 million parents.

A fair increase is long overdue. It would help rebuild the lives and the economies of those areas devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as well as benefit millions of low-wage Americans across the country. And, it would help millions of Americans pay the higher prices to heat their homes and put gas in their cars this winter.

Sincerely,

Charles M. Loveless
Director of Legislation

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