PA State Democrats push higher minimum wage

State Democrats push higher minimum wage

By John L. Micek and Christina Gostomski

Call Harrisburg Bureau

October 2, 2005

HARRISBURG | The last time Pennsylvania legislators voted to increase the minimum wage, President Reagan was in the White House, Bobby McFerrin took home the Grammy for record of the year and the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series.

That was in 1988.

Gov. Ed Rendell and labor activists want 2005 to be the year the state puts a higher minimum wage on the books than the current federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour, which took effect in 1997.

They have some reason to hope: Other legislatures recently have raised the minimum wage in their states, and Pennsylvania lawmakers are seeking voter-friendly proposals after giving themselves unpopular raises.

But while raising the minimum wage heartens some constituents, it lacks the broad appeal of other proposals, such as tax reform. Moreover, those who like it tend to support Democrats, making it a tough sell to a Republican-controlled Legislature.

''No question about it, it's a Democrat issue and Republican support is going to be limited and halting,'' veteran political analyst Michael Young said. ''If it happens, it will be as a compromise on other issues. The odds are against any bill coming out at the other end.''

For Democrats, the minimum wage has long been a symbolic issue, Young said, something they ''like to take home and say they accomplished.''

This time, they're hoping support from Democratic Rendell, coupled with action by other states and the bad public relations generated by the pay raise for lawmakers approved this summer, will pressure their Republican counterparts.

During a speech Sept. 12 announcing his fall legislative agenda, Rendell — who's up for re-election next year — chided lawmakers for increasing their own pay but resisting a higher minimum wage.

Rendell is backing a proposal offered by House Democrats that would boost the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.25 by January and $7.15 by January 2007.

When he took office, Rendell resisted raising the state's minimum wage, saying he believed it was more appropriate for Washington to raise the federal minimum wage.

''The governor still believes it's appropriate for the federal government to take action … but inaction by the president forced us to seek a minimum wage increase,'' said Rendell spokeswoman Kate Philips, adding that wage hikes in New Jersey and New York, which have created a competitive job market, spurred the need for an increase here.

On Saturday, New Jersey's minimum wage rose by $1 an hour to $6.15. New York's rate goes from $6 to $6.75 in January.

Labor leaders say raising the minimum wage is necessary to reduce the number of people living in poverty. ''The cost of living … has dropped the minimum wage to 1970 minimum wage rates,'' said Bill George, president of the state AFL-CIO.

Seventeen other states, including the District of Columbia, pay a minimum wage higher than the federal level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Twenty-five states, including Pennsylvania, have wage laws that pay the same as the federal minimum. Six states have no minimum wage law. And two states — Kansas and Ohio — have laws that allow them to pay a wage lower than the federal standard.

''As much as House Democrats wanted to do it [earlier], there was neither the opportunity nor the momentum,'' state House Minority Whip Mike Veon, D-Beaver, said, adding he hopes Rendell's support will lead to approval of the wage increase first introduced in January by state Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia.

Simple self-preservation may lead lawmakers who have been skeptical of a wage hike in the past to vote for it, said Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Mellow, D-Lackawanna.

But while labor leaders and low-income workers tend to support a minimum wage hike, they also tend to vote for Democrats, giving Republicans little reason to promote the cause.

And many who earn minimum wage frequently don't vote at all, said Christopher Borick, director of the Institute of Public Opinion at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.

Increasing the minimum wage may be ''good from a public relations perspective,'' Borick said, but keeping it the same probably won't affect lawmakers at the polls. ''They're pretty insulated from that.''

That makes Republicans unlikely to risk losing the support of small businesses — a core GOP constituency — by supporting a higher minimum wage.

Business leaders — the folks who would be paying the higher wages — oppose such a hike, claiming it will hurt them and minimum wage workers alike.

Given the choice between paying more for an unskilled worker and paying more for a more qualified worker, employers will opt for the latter or leave entry jobs unfilled, said Kevin Shivers, a lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

Not surprisingly, Republicans are balking at the proposal.

''We'll listen to the governor make his case,'' said Steve Miskin, a spokesman for state House Majority Leader Sam Smith, R-Jefferson. But Miskin said his boss is interested in alternatives — such as the earned income tax credit or a personal income tax rollback — before acting on a minimum wage hike.

Senate Republicans also are more likely to support targeted tax credits than a minimum wage hike, said Drew Crompton, a senior aide to Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer, R-Blair.

Earned income tax credits reduce the amount of tax a low-income worker owes. Some Republicans like the credits because small businesses don't pay for them. Instead, the money comes from state funds.

But tax credits would compete with other state spending priorities and come after deep cuts were made in spending.

Copyright © 2005, The Morning Call

Source: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1-5minwageoct02,0,7658557.story?coll=all-news-hed

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