WHY DOES MAINE NEED A HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE?

On October 1, 2005, the Maine minimum wage increased to $6.50 an hour. LD 235, a bill that has already been passed out of the Maine House and will probably go to a vote in the Senate within a few weeks, will raise the hourly Maine minimum wage to $6.75 per hour on October 1, 2006, and then to $7.00 per hour on October 1, 2007.

The same arguments for and against a minimum wage and increases in the minimum have been used since the federal minimum wage was first enacted and set at 25 cents an hour more than 65 years ago. There is extensive research on every argument and the various points listed here. Many are posted on the Maine AFL-CIO website for the convenience of those who wish to review the subject in more depth. There is also a wealth of information on the religious and moral support for the minimum wage on the “Let Justice Roll” Campaign website.

MINIMUM WAGE

• Increases in the minimum wage have not kept pace with inflation. The federal minimum wage in 1968 was equivalent to $8.69 today, allowing for inflation. Even if this effort to raise Maine’s minimum wage to $7.00 is successful, we will still be far behind where we were nearly 40 years ago.

• Even $7 an hour is not a “livable wage.” According to the Maine Center for Economic Policy, a single worker in the state of Maine needs to earn $9.23 just to cover basic necessities like food, rent, and health care. A worker supporting a family requires even more.

• Increases in the minimum wage benefit mostly adults. More than 70% of those who benefit from an increase in the minimum wage are adults over 20 years old. In Maine a minimum wage increase benefits about 35,000 workers.

• An increase in the minimum wage does NOT cause job loss. Exhaustive analysis at both the state and federal level shows no significant job loss due to minimum wage increases. In the largest and most recent study, 9 out of 10 employers report a minimum wage increase does not affect their employment or hiring decisions.

• Poor families depend on the minimum wage. In families with at least one minimum wage worker, he or she contributes more than half of the total family income.

• Women are more likely than men to be working for the minimum wage. A low minimum wage puts many single mothers and children at risk.

• Minimum wage increases boost the economy directly. Persons working for minimum wages are unable to save a significant amount of money. Any increase in wages is usually spent immediately in the local economy, generating a “multiplier effect” that helps businesses. Studies have shown that small businesses (50 employees or less) have actually grown faster and created more jobs in states with high minimum wages than in low minimum wage states.

• Thousands of workers need help now. Many of the so-called “new jobs” in our economy are low wage service jobs without benefits – especially without health care coverage. A minimum wage increase can help these working families and their children as well as contributing to Maine’s economic position.

• Maine workers need a minimum wage increase more than many other states. From July 2000 until August 2003, Maine lost 17,800 manufacturing jobs, or 22.1% - the highest percentage job loss in the nation. This loss continues today. Many of these workers are forced to take minimum wage jobs without benefits or health care just to get by. These Maine working families would be helped substantially by a minimum wage increase.

• We have a moral obligation to make sure that hard-working Maine people and families do not live in poverty. Every major religion teaches some version of the “Golden Rule”: “Do unto others as you would have done to you.” The labor movement was built on the principle of solidarity among workers. The American Dream is based on the principle that anyone can achieve success through hard work. Ask yourself:

Would you want to try to support your family on just $6.50 an hour?

Please leave a message for your State Senator at (800) 423-6900 and tell him or her that you support a more just minimum wage for Maine. To find out who represents you, visit www.janus.state.me.us/house/townlist.htm

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