Posted on 05/28/2005 2:13:38 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
The minimum wage has been at $5.15 an hour for almost eight years, and it is long overdue for a raise. Unfortunately, instead of helping working families by raising the minimum wage, the Republicans in the state Senate joined their extreme colleagues in the Assembly by passing AB 49 this month, which takes away the power of cities to raise the minimum wage.
As the leading advocates behind the already enacted minimum wage ordinances in Madison and Milwaukee, we are greatly disheartened at the Legislature attacking local control and working people.
Although Republicans going on a power grab and fighting for the interests of big business at the expense of working class folks isn't news, what is surprising is that Gov. Jim Doyle might actually join them. He has recently indicated that if Republicans finally drop their objections to his modest but important statewide minimum wage increase, he would sign AB 49, a bill he vetoed just last year.
In essence, that would move up the implementation of a statewide $6.50 minimum wage by a number of months, something that ought to have happened years ago.
However, trading the permanent pre-emption of city minimum wages for a one-time increase isn't just a bad deal for Jim Doyle to make, it's an awful blow to future generations. Without cities prodding the Legislature into action on this issue, the discussion happening today wouldn't ever have come to pass. Certainly, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and company would not have been actively lobbying in favor of a statewide increase for the first time in history.
In essence, this deal would trade away one of our best tools for action in the long term in exchange for one short-term quick fix. In 2013, when the minimum wage in Wisconsin is still $6.50, and people wonder why it hasn't gone up in eight years, we might identify Jim Doyle's signature on AB 49 as the reason.
There are 11,600 workers in Madison alone who make more than $6.50 but less than $7.75, which is the minimum wage Madison arrived at after studying the economy and cost of living here. While those 11,600 workers will have their promised wage hike robbed by this deal, there are hundreds of thousands of workers now and in the future all across this state for whom stagnant, low wages will remain a permanent reality without cities pushing a progressive agenda on wages.
This debate also raises the issue of respecting the business-labor advisory process that has been used for decades to make adjustments to workers' compensation laws, unemployment insurance and the minimum wage. In a vote that was unanimous except for two GOP legislators, business and labor interests on the state's Minimum Wage Advisory Council came to a consensus about raising the minimum wage. During those negotiations, the idea of pre-empting city minimum wages was discussed, as was indexing the minimum wage to inflation. Both were taken off the table to satisfy both business and labor.
The subsequent action of altering the advisory council's recommendations to the exclusive benefit of one side is a violation of the process that has served Wisconsin well for decades.
Beyond being a bad deal for working families and labor, the pre-emption doctrine is also an assault on the Wisconsin tradition of local control.
Wisely, generations before ours recognized that the government closest to the people knows them best and is the most responsive in addressing their needs. AB 49 is one of several bills coming from the GOP that would bind the hands of local governments in favor of state control, a pattern Wisconsinites of all political stripes should be concerned about. It is hard to imagine that a legislator from West Bend or Peshtigo knows what it's like to live on minimum wage in Milwaukee or Madison with our higher costs of living.
Fortunately, it is not too late. We believe Gov. Doyle can be persuaded not to flip-flop on the pre-emption bill. Politically, it would be foolish of him to betray organized labor, low-wage workers and the people of Madison and Milwaukee who, together, comprise a substantial part of his increasingly unhappy base. It also cedes the high ground on the issue of raising the minimum wage, which is one of the most popular issues in this state, with public support nearing 80 percent.
Gov. Doyle can stay true to his principles by supporting local control and working people and rejecting this assault on city minimum wages. Otherwise, his legacy may not be that he raised the minimum wage once, but that he effectively stopped all future raises from happening in the process.
This minimum wage stuff is BS. Job openings go BEGGING for people in Madison, most already start at over $7/hr. It's a College Town! What? Not enough Beer & Condom Money for the kids? Yeesh.
I don't grasp the whole concept of politicians being able to set wage scale for private employers. Are there any limits?
What if a small village with only one employer decided to set the minimum wage at $25??
The prime issue about minimum wage is not at the lowest wrung. Many union contracts are tied to the minimum wage: When it goes up,everyone gets a raise. Remember that many covernment jobs are Unionized,
No, there aren't any limits. If a city sets wages higher than employers can (or will) pay, the employers will move to other parts of the state. Then, when the state sets the wages higher, the employers will move to a different state. Then, when the Fed'l Gov't sets the wages higher, the employers will move to a different country.
And there we are, with high wages and high unemployment. But we'll have politicians who "care about us".
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