NH's higher minimum wage will help families live with dignity
By George N. Copadis Commentary
Friday, Aug. 31, 2007

IT IS FITTING that tomorrow -- two days before Labor Day -- New Hampshire's minimum wage will increase from $5.85 to $6.50 per hour. Next September, the rate will rise to $7.25. Before a federally mandated increase on July 2, New Hampshire's minimum wage was the lowest in the Northeast at just $5.15 an hour.

As we get ready to celebrate our national holiday honoring the social and economic achievements of American workers, those at the lowest end of New Hampshire's wage scale will know that the value of their labor is finally being more properly recognized.

In his inaugural address, Gov. John Lynch made passage of the minimum wage hike a top priority, and both branches of our Legislature did the right thing in offering bipartisan support for this long overdue measure. When he signed the first increase in our state's minimum wage in a decade this past May, Gov. Lynch said, "Today, we are standing together and telling our hard-working families in New Hampshire that we care about them and that we care about their hard work."

He was absolutely correct.

As this law takes effect it is worth noting that according to research conducted by University of New Hampshire Prof. Ross Gittell, the primary beneficiaries of the minimum wage increase will be women, working parents and older employees aged 65 and up. Even this modest increase in the minimum wage will help these hard-working families meet the sometimes overwhelming financial hardships they face in the form of ever-increasing housing costs, health care, child care, energy and other costs.

Most importantly, the increase in the minimum wage is a matter of social justice. Before the July and imminent September increases, the purchasing power of our state's minimum wage had descended to its lowest level in more than half a century, leaving us with the intolerable reality that thousands of New Hampshire citizens were working full time, year after year, without the ability to afford the basic necessities of life. The incremental increases in the minimum wage are important steps toward ensuring that those who work earn enough to live and raise their families in dignity.

In the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, under whose leadership the original federal minimum wage was established, "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

I, and the hard-working families of New Hampshire, thank Gov. Lynch and lawmakers for recognizing the value in raising the minimum wage. A happy Labor Day to all!

George N. Copadis is New Hampshire's labor commissioner.