New Poll Finds Overwhelming Majority of Georgians Support Federal Minimum Wage for State's Working Poor

- 84% of Georgians believe all Georgia workers should be paid at or above federal minimum wage -

ATLANTA, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Georgia voters have overwhelmingly expressed support for the federal minimum wage on behalf of workers in the state of Georgia, according to a survey released today by The Atlanta Women's Foundation.

How important is it that we make sure that no worker in Georgia is ever paid by his or her employer below the Federal Minimum Wage?

Do you support requiring all Georgia businesses, without exception, to pay employees at or above Federal Minimum Wage of $7.25 per hour?

Among Georgia Female Voters: How important is it that we make sure that no worker in Georgia is ever paid by his or her employer below the Federal Minimum Wage?

Do you support requiring all Georgia businesses, without exception, to pay employees at or above Federal Minimum Wage of $7.25 per hour?

The statewide survey found 84 percent of Georgia voters believe all workers in Georgia should be paid at or above federal minimum wage. This same data also indicates strong support for initiatives that would enable Georgia's working poor to have better access to health care for their families.

Georgia minimum wage is still $5.15 per hour. Some categories of workers -- including those in the fishing and some seasonal recreation industries -- are covered only by state, not federal, wage laws. In addition, a Supreme Court decision last June ruled that workers in the home-health-care industry -- who provide basic, non-medical care for the elderly, ill and disabled -- can also legally be paid less than the federal minimum wage.

While numerous other states' minimum wage laws explicitly protect this significant workforce of home-health-care workers, many of whom are women, Georgia's current laws do not.

"Approximately 60 percent of all minimum wage workers in Georgia are women, and we are continuously seeing enormous increases in single-family heads of household," says Deborah Richardson, CEO of The Atlanta Women's Foundation. "Forty-three percent of female-headed households with one child have an income below the minimum budget required to support a household, and 61 percent of single women with two children earn below this level."

According to the Institute of Women's Policy Research, in Georgia, white, non-Hispanic women make only 74.6 percent of the earnings of white men. African-American women suffer an even greater disparity, earning only 60.8 percent of that of a white male.

Even when minimum wage reaches $7.25 an hour, effective July 24, 2009, those working in the lowest paying jobs will only be making half of what it takes to run a household in Georgia, according to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute.

"We must help these women and families achieve at least federal minimum wage and ensure better access to health care services," Richardson says.

Charles H. Green, president of Sunrise Bank of Atlanta, says he supports legislation that would bring the state minimum wage up to the federal rate.

"It is crucial that Georgia legislators understand the positive economic impact a state-mandated federal minimum wage would have for Georgia's women and working poor," Green says. "With a fair wage, access to health care and a reasonable standard of living, these consumers would be in a better position to contribute to the economy instead of having no choice but to turn to the government for assistance."

The survey found Georgia voters are more likely to re-elect a legislator who has a track record of supporting legislation that positively impacts women. The AWF survey also identified the following issues that Georgia voters, both men and women, overwhelming support, such as:

• The availability of secure and affordable health insurance for children of all working families (80+ percent);
• The ability of working parents to take a small amount of unpaid leave to go to the doctor or participate in their children's school activities (79 percent);
• Affordable insurance for all citizens that covers basic health care, such as well-child visits and mammograms (66 percent); and
• The ability of women and adolescent girls to get confidential medical advice and contraceptives from public health clinics (72 percent).

These same voters strongly oppose:

• Cutting back PeachCare or making it available to fewer families (70 percent);
• High-deductible insurance plans that don't cover basic health care now mandated by law (66 percent); and
• Interference of government in medical decisions (79 percent).

"While these voters are expressing their opinion through polls, 59 percent do not feel their voice is heard by state legislators," Richardson says. "As the economy and health care are a main focus of the upcoming elections, we need to ensure that these opinions are reaching elected officials at every level."

About the Survey

This data was compiled from a scientific survey of 400 men and women who are demographically representative of Georgia-registered voters. The survey was conducted Jan. 31, 2008, through Feb. 9, 2008, by The Schapiro Group. The voters polled were evenly divided among Republicans, Democrats and Independents and came from a broad spectrum of income groups from communities across the state of Georgia. The poll has a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.9 percent.

About The Atlanta Women's Foundation

Every woman has the power to improve her life - and the lives of other women around her. This is the driving force behind The Atlanta Women's Foundation, Georgia's only public foundation focused exclusively on the challenges faced by women and girls. We serve five counties in the metropolitan Atlanta area, and our donors and grantee partners come from all walks of life and from all communities. We represent diverse views and experiences, but we all share one important belief: together, we can increase self-sufficiency among women and girls and accomplish positive social change.

The Atlanta Women's Foundation (AWF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 1986 as The Atlanta Women's Fund, a division of The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. In 1998, AWF became an independent entity. Today The Atlanta Women's Foundation has granted $9 million to 250 nonprofit organizations. On April 16, 2008, The Atlanta Women's Foundation will present the Summit of Women and Girls at the Georgia World Congress Center. Speakers, workshops and discussions will focus on the impact of women's leadership and philanthropy to transform the lives of all women and girls and the entire community. For more information, visit http://www.atlantawomen.org.