Living Wage Sign-on Letter
August X, 2000
Dear Representative/Senator/President Clinton:
We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to support legislation that would increase the minimum wage by at least $1 over the next two years, while avoiding unnecessary tax cuts and amaging changes to existing labor law. Specifically, we urge you adopt legislation that would: * Raise the Minimum Wage Now and Phase It In As Quickly As Possible: America's minimum wage workers need a raise as soon as possible. A full time worker making the current minimum wage only earns $10,712 per year - more than $3,000 below the poverty line for a family of three. Delaying the increase only makes matters worse. Compared to a two year phase-in, phasing the increase in over three years would cost a full time minimum wage worker more than $900 over two years. A two year phase-in commands strong bipartisan support in the House. A three year phase-in period is unacceptably long and should be rejected.
* Avoid Unnecessary Tax Cuts that Primarily Benefit the Wealthy: Minimum wage legislation recently passed by the House and Senate has been accompanied by tax cuts that would disproportionately benefit the nation's most fortunate citizens. When nearly one in five of our nation's children live in poverty, three out of four third graders read below grade level, and 43 million people have no health insurance, it is clear that there are other, more pressing needs for our limited budgetary resources.
* Avoid Weakening Overtime Laws and Other Labor Protections: Minimum wage legislation recently passed by the House would repeal overtime protections for 1.5 million American workers. Legislation raising the minimum wage should not be viewed as an opportunity to weaken existing labor laws.
* Make the Minimum Wage Applicable to the Mariana Islands: Workers in American territories deserve the same protections, dignity and rights as other Americans. Any increase in the minimum wage should also apply to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the only U.S. territory not currently governed by federal minimum wage law.
Why move now to increase the minimum wage? Faith-based organizations and charities are straining to serve escalating requests for emergency food from their pantries and soup kitchens, especially from working people. According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, requests for emergency food assistance increased by an average 18 percent in 1999. Sixty-seven percent of the adults requesting food assistance were employed, but not earning enough to feed their families. Increasing the minimum wage by one dollar to $6.15 per hour would mean an additional $2000 per year for full-time workers -- money that could buy groceries, pay rent, or otherwise help low-income workers in need.
With 80 percent of Americans supporting a minimum wage increase, now is the time to act on this much-needed legislation. Every day that passes without action heightens the cost to America's low wage workers. We urge you to act promptly to raise the minimum wage.
Sincerely,
Organization
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