Wage Increase

The minimum wage rises from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour today, the last of a three-step increase approved by Congress two years ago in order to return some measure of relevancy to the federal standard that had been stuck at a paltry $5.15 for a decade. For the estimated 4.5 million workers who stand to benefit, this will be a cause for celebration. Others fear that what amounts to a 10 percent wage increase could not be more disastrously timed. They believe employers already suffering in a recession will have little choice but to lay off more workers.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Teachers at this city's public schools are vowing to strike for two days next week if negotiators fail to reach a contract agreement.Ward Rountree, co-executive director of the Oakland Education Association, said the 3,500 teachers, counselors and other workers represented by the union would walk out next Tuesday and Wednesday if they fail to win a contract boosting wages and cutting class sizes."We would hope that the district is smart enough to understand that our members are serious about this," Mr. Rountree said.

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration, in an effort to help the legions of U.S. workers still on the lowest rungs of the income ladder, will push hard for an increase in the minimum wage or the earned income tax credit, sources said yesterday.Secretary of Labor Robert Reich has told a private meeting of Labor Department employees that an increase is a "very important" goal of the administration, according to a department official.Lawrence Katz, picked by Mr. Reich for the new post of chief economist of the Labor Department, is the author of a study that defies conventional economic wisdom by contending that employment in the fast-food industry in Texas expanded, despite a minimum wage increase.

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration has delayed its plans to push for a higher minimum wage because of worries about undermining job growth and antagonizing conservatives and business executives while the president's economic plan hangs in the balance, administration officials said yesterday.They said the administration would probably wait until next year, and then propose an increase in the $4.25-an-hour minimum wage that would be far smaller than the $1-an-hour rise contemplated when President Clinton took office.

The Maryland Senate approved a $1 per hour increase in the minimum wage yesterday, and prospects are strong for similar legislation in the House of Delegates - setting up a possible veto by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who sides with business groups in questioning the economic impact of the measure. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller announced this year that he would push for a $6.15 minimum wage rather than seek to override Ehrlich's veto of a bill passed last year guaranteeing higher pay for state contractors.

Raising the floor for wages helps business, labor It was disappointing to read that some businesses take a short-sighted view and oppose a minimum wage increase ("Minimum wage rise is OK'd by Md. Senate," April 7). This really should not be a worker vs. employer issue. We all benefit by having a stable work force that earns a decent wage for a hard day's work, just as we all benefit by having a thriving business community that provides quality jobs as well as goods and services for our residents.

IF WE ARE SERIOUS about reforming welfare and rewarding work, then the minimum wage in this country must help keep people out of poverty. An increase in the minimum wage will affect close to 12 million Americans, many of whom rely on their salaries as their sole source of family income.Rep. Jack Quinn, a Republican House member from New York, summed it up best when, urging support for an increase in the minimum wage, he remarked: "Even welfare pays much more."The minimum wage law was enacted in 1938 to ensure that workers were fairly compensated.

WASHINGTON -- In signs that inflation will remain subdued, wage, salary, and benefit costs paid by U.S. employers rose at the slowest pace in a year during the third quarter, and consumer confidence in the economy weakened this month, reports showed yesterday.The Labor Department's employment cost index increased a smaller-than-expected 0.6 percent after rising 0.8 percent in the second quarter. Wages alone showed the smallest quarterly increase since the third quarter of 1992. Analysts had expected a 0.8 percent increase in third quarter labor costs.

An increase in the federal minimum wage to $6.55 an hour took effect yesterday, and unlike last year's increase - the first one at the federal level in 11 years - this one affects Maryland workers (the state minimum wage is $6.15). Bloggers had plenty to say about a pay raise for workers on the job market's lowest rung. "CNN reports: 'Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat who was one of the sponsors of the measure in the House, said up to 13 million workers benefited from the first increase under the bill, which brought the federal minimum wage to $5.85 per hour in July 2007.

With a deadline looming tomorrow, Baltimore County school board members approved a $1.17 billion spending plan last night, omitting a $20 million request that would have been used to raise wages for the system's lowest-paid workers - a sticking point that had stymied the usually routine budget process. On an 8-3 vote, board members turned down a proposal to raise the system's minimum hourly wage to $10 because of concerns that the move would come at too steep a price. The proposed wage increase fueled disagreement last week that kept the board from reaching a majority to approve the budget.