Re: Call Shelly to Raise Min.Wage
Wandering Bear (wandering_bear@hotmail.com)
Fri, 16 Jan 1998 14:02:29 PST
I know that this is a very emotional issue and that many people get
upset when people speak against this plan.
But Ive found after watching the results of several minimum wage raises
in Oregon that this plan does nothing to lower the poverty rate.In fact
it does just the opposite.Capitolism is a flawed system.
As long as it exsists as it is there will always be poor and homeless.
Thats the way capitolisum works.Not every one can be wealthy,and in
order for one person to be wealthy others must go poor.
raiseing the minimum wage only increses that effect.The money
for the wage hike comes from downsizing in the company staff at the
lowest level and forcing the new lowest level to work even harder for
that rase in wage.Dont expect the corperate owners to take it out of
their own pocket because they wont.
We need another solution to this problem other than raising the minimum
wage.But the right and fair solution isnt going to be popular.
Peace Love and Light:)
Wandering Bear
**********************************************************************
>
>Please call Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (Democrat - Manhattan) ASAP
>and
>urge him to raise the state minimum wage to $6.50 an hour. His main
>Albany
>phone number is 518-455-3791 (his Chief of Staff is Fred Jacobs; Fred
>gets
>fewer phone calls, so a call to him might make more of an impression).
>You
>could also call his New York City office at 212-385-6611.
>
>Feel free to express your anger at Silver for recently calling for a
pay
>
>raise
>for himself and other state legislators, claiming they "make less than
>the
>minimum wage" but failing to address the needs of the working poor of
>our
>state.
>
>Groups such as the Hunger Action Network support $6.50 an hour for
>reasons
>outlined below. Groups such as the Greens and Solidarity/Jobs with
>Justice
>tend to support around $10 an hour, since that is more a living wage.
>Feel
>free to ask for your own number.
>
>You can also call Senator Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (Rep -
>Rensselaer,
>518-455-3191), Senate Labor Chair Nicholas Spano (R - Westchester,
>518-455-2231 or 914-969-5194), and Assembly Labor Chairperson Cathy
>Nolan
>(D - Queens, 518-455-4851 or 718-456-9492). The Republicans have
blocked
>
>raising the state minimum wage to the federal level; the Democrats
won't
>
>push to raise the state above the federal.
>
>On Monday, Jan. 12, the Speaker of the State Assembly told reporters he
>wanted
>to raise the salary for State Legislators because they make less than
>the
>minimum wage. Mr. Silver is a little out of touch with reality. The
>state
>minimum wage is $4.25 an hour. The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an
>hour.
>Since state legislators only work 2 to 3 days a week for six months
>(with
>several vacations during that time), they work about 640 hours. Since
>the
>lowest paid State Legislators makes $57,500, they make about $90 an
>hour.
>However, all state legislators make considerably more than that, since
>they
>get a generous per diem (around $70 a day, even in many cases when they
>are
>not in session) and most get additional "lulus" (for in lieu of
>compensation)
>of between a few thousand to $30,000 for chairing committees or holding
>the
>multitude of "leadership" posts.
>
>Historically, the minimum wage was set at a level that would bring a
>full-time
>worker with 2 dependents to the federal poverty level (a little over
>$13,000
>for a family of 3). This works out to $6.50 an hour.
>
>Sen. Kennedy has introduced a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to
>$6.65
>an hour over 3 years.
>
>New York has not even raised the state minimum wage to the federal
>level,
>though the Assembly did pass a bill to do this last session; the Senate
>(i.e.,
>Joe Bruno) refused to bring it up for a vote. Somewhere over 20,000 New
>York
>workers (mainly farmworkers, also some seasonal workers at amusement
>parks)
>are still at $4.25 an hour. Most other workers are covered by the
higher
>of
>the state or federal minimum wage.
>
>States have the power to raise their state minimum wage above the
>federal
>level. During the 1980's and 1990's, many states in the northeast
raised
>
>their
>minimum above the federal. New York, under Cuomo, did not. Actually,
the
>
>Governor has the power to raise the state minimum wage without
>legislative
>approval. Both Cuomo and Pataki have refused to use that power.
>
>You might also want to raise the issue of the maximum wage. I have long
>advocated making the minimum wage 1/10th of the maximum wage. Rather
>than
>forcing health care, fast food, child care, janitorial workers (who
>don't
>make
>a lot of campaign contributions) to beg legislators to raise their
>meager
>salaries, we could make lawyers, doctors, real estate moguls and
>legislators
>to lobby for a raise for themselves and pull the rest of us behind
them.
>At
>one tenth of legislators' salaries, the minimum wage would be about $9
>an
>hour. If legislators got a raise, they would drag the minimum up to
>about
>$11
>or so.
>
>For more information, call Mark Dunlea at 518-434-7371 (work) or
>518-283-6512 (home), or send e-mail to DunleaEnck@aol.com.
>
>--
>GABRIELLI WINERY of Redwood Valley, Mendocino, California:
> * PINOT NOIR * SANGIOVESE * ZINFANDEL RESERVE *
> * ASCENZA (white blend) * RIESLING * CHARDONNAY *
> http://www.interport.net/~rugosa/index.html
> Better Living Thru Better Living
>
>
>
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