WASHINGTON BUREAU · NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE
1156 15th Street, NW Suite 915 · Washington, DC 20005 · P (202)463-2940 · F (202)463-2953
E-MAIL:washingtonbureau@naacpnet.org · WEB ADDRESS http://www.naacp.org/ 
 

ACTION ALERT

DATE: August 10, 2006

TO: Concerned Parties

FROM: Bruce Gordon, President and CEO
Hilary O. Shelton, Director, Washington Bureau

NAACP CALLS FOR A REAL INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM WAGE

URGES CONGRESS TO PASS THE FAIR MINIMUM WAGE ACT AS SOON AS THEY RETURN TO DC FROM THEIR AUGUST DISTRICT WORK PERIOD

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE ISSUE:

Just prior to leaving for their August district work period, the United States Senate defeated, by only 3 votes, an attempt to bring up and pass a flawed minimum wage increase. Specifically, the bill that was being considered would have helped 1.8 million fewer American families than the proposal long supported by the NAACP, and it would have drastically reduced the wages of more than one million tipped workers.

Now we must fight even harder than before for a genuine increase in the minimum wage. It is the utmost of hypocrisy for many Members of Congress to suddenly be in strong support of an increase of the minimum wage, and go so far as to agree that it is long overdue, when it is tied to a tax break for the wealthiest Americans but not support a "clean" minimum wage bill that would help all the workers and families it is intended to help.

A real increase in the federal minimum wage is long overdue. Real wages are actually declining for the first time in more than a decade, while the price of everything from healthcare, gasoline and food are rising rapidly. At the current minimum wage of $5.15 an hour, a worker who works 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year earns $10,712. This is almost $2,000 below the 2003 poverty level for a family of 2 (a parent and a child).

Currently, 7.5 million American workers earn between $5.15 an hour and $8 an hour; 84% of them are adults over the age of 20. Nearly half of them are married or have children. Over half of them are women, and 60% of them work full time.

The Fair Minimum Wage Act has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) (S. 1062) and in the House by Congressman George Miller (D-CA) (H.R. 2429). This legislation would raise the current $5.15 minimum wage by 70 cents six months after enactment (to $5.85 an hour); an additional 70 cents (to $6.55 an hour) a year later, and a final 70 cent increase (to $7.25 an hour) a year after that. This increase will help real workers who work hard to support themselves and their families; ethnic minority Americans make up nearly 40% of those who would benefit from the increase.

We must pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act now. No one who works hard for a living should be forced to exist well below the poverty level. Please click here to view the entire Action Alert.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS IMPORTANT MATTER!!!
If you have any questions, call Hilary Shelton at the Washington Bureau at (202) 463-2940.

MEMBERSHIP IS POWER! JOIN THE NAACP TODAY.
For more information, call your local NAACP branch or visit http://www.naacp.org/