Let Justice Roll

State Senate targets the working poor
By Rev. Sandra L. Strauss

Patriot News (PA), 4/26/06

There is a game that seems to be all the rage in Harrisburg. It involves legislators seeking to outmaneuver one another, with the winner being the one who passes the most legislation for his or her side -- or stops the most legislation on the other side.

I'm looking for a name. I considered "King of the Capital," but that implies only one gender can win. "Monarch of the Capital" just doesn't have the same ring. How about "Grand Pooh-Bah of PA"?

This might be funny were it not for the all too real tragic consequences for thousands of Pennsylvanians.

On April 5, the House passed overwhelmingly (145-50) an amended version of a bill to increase the minimum wage in Pennsylvania, bringing it close to the original version. The final outcome would be the same -- an increase to $7.15 an hour, versus only $6.25 an hour in an earlier amendment. Missing is a cost of living adjustment that was in the original bill. While it could have been better, it was an improvement for many who believe that a raise in the minimum wage is long past due.

Despite such strong support in the House, we have seen little action in the Senate. In December, Senate Majority Leader David J. "Chip" Brightbill, R-Lebanon, promised to bring a vote on the minimum wage to the floor by the end of January. That deadline passed with no real explanation why. The word from colleagues who track potential votes more closely than I is that there are enough votes in the Senate to support House Bill 257 in its current form. Unfortunately, the bill now rests with the Senate Labor and Industry Committee, where a majority opposes an increase and, I suspect, has little interest in allowing this bill to reach the Senate floor.

I'm guessing that there are two reasons: (1) this is an election year, and passage might be seen as helping the governor; (2) no vote means the bill dies when the two-year session ends at the end of 2006.

Of course, it isn't the Senate or Sen. Brightbill who will pay; it is the thousands of Pennsylvanians trying to exist on hourly rates that put them below the poverty line.

A Quinnipiac poll conducted early in 2005 showed that a majority of Pennsylvanians supports increasing the minimum wage. And despite Sen. Brightbill's claims to the contrary, there are thousands of Pennsylvanians in his district and throughout the state who would benefit. A Keystone Research Center report estimates that 427,000 Pennsylvania workers who earn less than $7.14 an hour would benefit (even the Commonwealth Foundation, who opposes an increase, puts this number at 350,000).

Many more just above $7.15 an hour are likely to benefit as well. The KRC report also explodes the myth that most of these low wage workers are youth -- nearly 71 percent of those who would benefit from an increase to $7.15 an hour are adults.

The inflation adjusted 1968 wage would be around $9.15 an hour in today's dollars. Without an increase in nine years, the value of the $5.15-an-hour wage has eroded considerably. An increase to $6.25 an hour, while better than nothing, would only bring minimum wage workers UP TO poverty level. The fact that some of our legislators are playing games in light of these numbers is unconscionable.

Everyone who works for a living deserves a living wage. No one who works full-time should be mired below the poverty line unable to support a family without public assistance. Many of our elected officials complained that their salaries were insufficient when they voted for their own pay raise last summer. If over $69,000 a year isn't enough (the bottom end of legislators' salaries in 2005), then how can $10,700 a year, more often than not without health benefits, possibly be enough for someone earning minimum wage?

On April 18, the Governing Board of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches adopted a resolution calling for the General Assembly to treat workers justly and raise the minimum wage. In doing so, we join the national "Let Justice Roll" Living Wage campaign in saying, "A job should keep you out of poverty, not keep you in it."

Note to all who represent us in Harrisburg: politics may win in this game you are playing, but there are real losers, many of whom are your constituents.

The time to end this mockery of justice is now. We call on all legislators to quit playing politics, quit making excuses, and move minimum wage legislation that benefits hard working Pennsylvanians immediately.

THE REV. SANDRA L. STRAUSS is director of public advocacy for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, based in Harrisburg.

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