John
Edwards and Martin Luther King's legacy enlisted
in push to raise Ohio's minimum wage
Gongwer
News Service
1/20/06
Copyright (c) Gongwer News Service 2006
A
coalition trying to increase the state's minimum
wage recalled the legacy of Martin Luther King
Jr. in a series of statewide events designed to
generate support for a proposed ballot initiative.
They are also hoping former U.S. senator and vice-presidential
candidate John Edwards will help fuel the petition
drive.
Labor, church, and community groups across the
country have refocused their efforts on state
legislatures since the U.S. Congress has refused
to raise the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an
hour for almost a decade.
The minimum wage in Ohio, one of only two states
with a rate below the federal level, is $4.25.
The November ballot initiative is seen by backers
of the movement as critical in the national effort
to raise the minimum wage.
"Ohio is very important to our efforts and
we are working in other states as well,"
Mr. Edwards said in an e-mail interview. "I
want to work with local groups and leaders to
raise awareness about the importance of raising
the minimum wage, and I expect to travel there
over the course of the year to do what I can to
help."
After having seen the influence of "values"
in recent elections, supporters are working to
frame the minimum wage campaign as a moral issue.
"It's the right thing to do for workers who
are struggling to make ends meet," Mr. Edwards
said.
"It's immoral to pay people such a small
amount," said Sen. C.J. Prentiss (D-Cleveland),
who has been active in organizing the campaign
with the Republican majority resistant to her
minimum wage bill (SB 11). She linked Mr. King's
message with the fight to increase the minimum
wage in speeches delivered at recent Martin Luther
King Day events in Toledo and Warren. Mr. King
mentioned the issue during a speech in Washington,
she noted.
Sen. Prentiss said the issue should galvanize
Democratic voters. "The minimum wage campaign
gives people a reason to vote," she said.
"They can say, 'this is something that I
care about. I'm coming to the polls for this.'"
The coalition of labor, faith, and non-profit
groups have collected about 50,000 signatures
for a ballot issue to raise Ohio's minimum wage
to $6.85 an hour and provide for future increases
based on the Consumer Price Index. They need 322,899
valid signatures, but are hoping to collect about
500,000 to ensure that the issue gets placed on
the ballot, Sen. Prentiss said. Organizers plan
to collect as many signatures as possible using
volunteers, but will resort to paid signature
collectors if necessary, she added.
They also plan to raise several million dollars,
both for the petition drive and then to run the
campaign, Sen. Prentiss said. Noting that opponents
of Florida's minimum wage campaign spent about
four million dollars and were defeated, she said,
"We feel we need to be competitive - at least
in that ballpark."
Opponents of Ohio's minimum wage campaign are
also gearing up for a fall campaign. "We
anticipate putting up a fight," said Ty Pine,
state director for the Federation of Independent
Business, which is partnering with other business
groups to oppose the issue. Currently they are
engaged in an educational campaign to highlight
the negative impacts of a minimum wage increase.
"Raising the minimum wage would undoubtedly
have a negative impact on small businesses in
several ways," Mr. Pine said. A minimum wage
increase would reduce job creation for new entry-level
jobs, cause companies to further cut back on health
benefits for employees, and increase overall labor
costs in what he termed "wage creep."
The overall effect of these changes would drive
businesses out of state, he added. "If Ohio's
wages are higher than surrounding states, where
will business go?"
Taking issue with this criticism, Sen. Prentiss
argued that minimum wage jobs tend to be geographically
specific - tied to businesses such as restaurants
and hotels. "It's not like a GM plant that
can just move somewhere else to get cheaper labor,"
she said.
Increasing the minimum wage would actually stimulate
the economy, she added, arguing that low-wage
workers tend to spend more of their income than
the upper and middle classes. She also pointed
to studies showing higher wages reduce companies'
losses due to high turnover rates and employee
theft.
Ohio AFL-CIO Legislative Director Tim Burga, who
also has been helping to organize the campaign,
said about 92,000 people in Ohio make less than
the federal minimum wage. Initial research shows
that approximately 400,000 people in the state
would get a raise if voters approve the ballot
issue, he added.
"This is something that can't be repealed"
in the event of a severe economic downturn, Mr.
Pine cautioned. "It's going to be in Ohio's
Constitution if it passes," he said, recalling
a concern that helped to defeat other recent ballot
initiatives that would have amended the state's
constitution.
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