Where will the next president stand on fair wages?

The booming economy that’s making the rich even richer isn’t treating regular-working folks nearly as well. Many of us have trouble just making ends meet. When we go to the polls this November, we will be casting our votes for a president who will make critical decisions on how well we are able to support our families.

Minimum Wage

When Congress passed the 1996-1997 minimum-wage increase, those who benefited most were older than 20 –- not teenagers looking for extra cash. Of those older than 20, 40 percent were the sole breadwinners in their families.

In the U.S. House and Senate, Al Gore, who always has backed raising the minimum wage and who believes that people working 40 hours a week need to be able to support their families, supported increasing it in 1977, 1988 and 1989 – the only years it came up when Gore was in Congress. As vice president, Gore pushed for the 1996 minimum-wage increase. Gore also called on Congress to pass minimum-wage increases in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

As Texas Governor, George W. Bush, opposed increasing and extending the minimum wage three times. Domestic and agricultural workers in Texas are covered by the state minimum wage of $3.35 an hour. At the Federal level, Bush supported an amendment allowing states to refuse coverage by the minimum wage in a bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 9th. In his book, “A Charge to Keep”, Bush says welfare recipients should be required to get jobs, yet he opposes paying the federal minimum wage for their work in public-sector jobs. He argues they should receive only $188 in monthly Texas welfare payments, which endangers decent, livable wages for other public-sector employees also. Bush’s 12-page “New Prosperity Initiative”, which purports to “expand opportunity for working Americans living between poverty and prosperity”, does not once mention wages, including the minimum wage.

Equal Pay

On average, women earn about 73 cents for every dollar men make. As a result, America’s working families lose a staggering $200 billion of income annually to the wage gap – an average loss of more than $4,000 for each working woman’s family every year because of unequal pay. As part of the fiscal year 2000 budget, President Clinton and Gore called for $14 million in pay equity efforts and Gore backs the Paycheck Fairness Act to help working women close the pay gap.

So far, Bush has been silent on the issue of equal pay.

Fair Wages for Building and Construction Trades Workers

The Davis-Bacon Act was passed in 1931 to prevent the federal government from driving down wages and benefits in local communities, to deny unfair contractors the incentive to undercut local businesses and contractors and to import workers willing to work for less. The Act requires contractors to pay prevailing community wages and benefits on federal construction projects costing more than $2,000. For construction trades workers and their families, Davis-Bacon community-wage standards mean stability, security and a decent standard of living. For communities, they mean a strong tax base and a healthier economy. And for contractors, community-wage standards mean better-trained workers, higher-quality work, increased productivity and lower turnover.

While in Congress and as vice president, Gore has fought anti-worker attempts to repeal the Davis-Bacon Act and has promised to veto any legislation that undercuts community-wage standards.

Bush opposes Davis-Bacon.

Sources: Minimum wage: New York Post, March 3, 1999; Austin American-Statesman, June 2, 1998; The Columbus Dispatch, July 10, 1996; CNN, March 3, 2000; Center for Public Policy Priorities, Working, but Poor, March 1999; Houston Chronicle, May 17, 1997. Equal pay: www.algore2000.com; www.georgebush.com. Construction workers: 1985, 1991 and 1992 AFL-CIO Report on Congress; The Associated Press, September 24, 1999; and Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 20, 2000.