Let Justice Roll

Minimum wage may turn into city issue

By Dan Voorhis
Wichita Eagle, 10/19/07

A coalition of labor and community groups has gathered more than 1,300 signatures in an attempt to create a Wichita minimum wage.

They will present the petition to the Wichita City Council at some point in the future in hopes it will pass an ordinance mandating a wage to match the federal minimum wage.

The move would apply only to the relatively few workers who are not covered by the federal minimum wage law and, instead, are covered by the state minimum wage -- the nation's lowest at $2.65 an hour.

The Kansas Department of Labor estimates that about 27,000 Kansans are paid below the federal minimum wage, which rose to $5.85 an hour in July on its way to $7.25 in 2009.

Jake Lowen, director of the Wichita-Hutchinson Labor Federation, said groups are going local because the Kansas Legislature failed to raise the state minimum wage last spring.

"The people in Topeka didn't do anything for the people of Kansas," Lowen said. "Somebody has to stand up for what's right."

Heidi Zeller, an organizer for Kansas Action Network -- a coalition of Wichita and Kansas labor, church and community groups -- said proponents will approach council members to argue their case.

"There is tremendous evidence that this can really help the economy," she said.

But any local minimum wage would face legal and political hurdles.

Municipal law experts disagree on whether the council has the authority to impose a minimum wage on private employers.

Wichita City Attorney Gary Rebenstorf said the council does not have such authority.

Michael Heim, a state attorney who helps write bills for the Legislature and teaches classes on municipal law, said the law is unclear, but that the council probably could approve such a measure under its home-rule powers.

"It's kind of breaking new ground," said Sandy Jacquot, general counsel for the League of Kansas Municipalities.

And the effort would face a political challenge as well. Several council members said they wanted to know more before making any decisions.

"I would have to be convinced that it was needed," said District 2 council member Sue Schlapp.

District 4 council member Paul Gray said he already had made up his mind.

"I don't feel any justification to raise the minimum wage," he said. "The market dictates that."

http://www.kansas.com/101/story/204540.html