Small Boost May Mean a Lot for Some

By Traci Shurley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Jan. 10–More than 176,000 of Texas’ poorest workers could get a raise if legislators in Washington, D.C., can agree on a bill to increase the minimum wage.

Soon after the 110th Congress convened, last week, Democrats proposed increasing the federal minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour by 2009. The Associated Press has reported that President Bush supports the idea if tax breaks to help small businesses are included in the legislation.

It would be the first increase in almost a decade.

Federal statistics put the number of U.S. workers making $5.15 an hour or less at 1.9 million, or about 2.5 percent of the country’s hourly wage workers. Federal law allows for exceptions to the $5.15 an hour requirement for those in jobs that rely heavily on tips, full-time students and short-term workers under 20.

A total of 13 million low-wage workers could be affected directly or indirectly if the minimum wage went up, according to an estimate from the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based policy research group that backs a minimum wage hike.

In Texas, 176,000 workers made $5.15 an hour or less in 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Some of the lowest-paying jobs in the Metroplex are in food preparation and serving, which pay an average of $7.98 an hour, and in building, grounds keeping and maintenance, which pay an average of $9.61 an hour, according to federal statistics.

Twenty-nine states’ minimum wages are higher than the federal threshold, according to the Labor Department. Texas’ minimum wage is tied to the federal minimum.

While a raise would help some at the lowest end of the wage scale, it wouldn’t much affect the overall economy, said Bernard Weinstein, director of the Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas in Denton. “If you look at the big picture, we’re talking about relatively few workers,” Weinstein said. He said a higher minimum wage could mean job losses or price increases, primarily in food service and hospitality. But in general, he views the issue as more political than economic.

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, the ranking Republican member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, proposed “protecting” small businesses and their employees by adding tax breaks for small businesses to the legislation for a higher minimum wage. Some disagree about whether small businesses need protection from a wage increase.

“It’s important to note that the businesses face increased costs across the board every year and the minimum wage is one area where it’s essentially been frozen for the past ten years,” said Liana Fox, an economic analyst with the Economic Policy Institute.

Steven Smith, 43, was making a good living in California until a few months ago. Then, he was attacked by a pit bull, lost his job and faced a stack of medical bills with no insurance. Now, he lives at the Arlington Life Shelter and recently took a $6-an-hour job collecting garbage. He’s looking forward to an increase in pay after he passes a probationary period and is hired full time. Without it, he’s not sure how he will afford rent, utilities and food when he moves out of the shelter. “It’s hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel. All I see is tunnel. But I keep trying,” Smith said. Even a few extra dollars would help people in his situation, he said.

A 36-year-old Arlington mother of three who makes $5.15 an hour as a hotel housekeeper said even a dollar or two more an hour would give her family added stability. Her husband makes minimum wage in his construction-related job. With a wage increase, occasional car problems or medical emergencies might not be so tough to manage, she said.

After 30 years in child care, Cathy Racette, director of the Little Shepherd Children’s Center in Arlington, would love to see child care workers receive better pay. Little Shepherd starts its part-time teacher pay at $7.50, but Racette said there are day care centers where aides still get below the proposed $7.25 an hour. “It would be a wonderful thing if it raised the entire salary field, because most workers in this field are underpaid,” Racette said.

Vicki Gabriel, owner of New Birth Landscaping in Alvarado, said she wouldn’t feel right paying someone minimum wage. She pays starting employees at least $7.50 an hour. “I feel like this is hard work,” she said. “Nobody’s going to get out and work for $5 an hour doing this. It’s not fair.”

Those who earn minimum wage or near minimum wage make ends meet by working more than one job, pooling child care or other needs with relatives and relying on government services or charities, according to people who run local nonprofits. April Alvarez, director of social services at the Northside Inter-Church Agency in Fort Worth, calls them “underemployed.” The agency provides clothing, food, financial assistance and other help to families that make an average of $758 a month or less before taxes. “We do see a lot of clients in here who are employed, but they still have a problem buying food, getting housing and buying school clothes,” Alvarez said.

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