Monday, March 07, 2005

Repugnant Repubs & Santorum: Whores for Corporations & Sweatshops

Sen. Kennedy (D-MA) has proposed raising the minimum wage (in 2 stages over a 26 month period) from $5.15 an hr to $7.35 an hr. This is the 1st time in nearly 8yrs that it would be raised (if it passes) and would help 7.5 million American workers pay their bills, feed their families, and survive. Kennedy's proposal comes in reaction to the Bankruptcy bill that will undoubtedly create SERIOUS hardships for struggling middle class and poor families. I have 1 very important question: Why isn't the minimum wage indexed to inflation? Soc Sec checks, personal exemptions, standard deductions, etc, are indexed, so why not min wage? Sen. Santorum (R-PA) has proposed that the minimum wage only be raised $1.10 (in 2 stages over 18 months) and has also proposed that the standard 40 hr workweek be abolished and in it's place, replaced with a new 80hr workweek that is spread out over a 2 weeks time pay period (you could work 50 hrs one week, 30 hrs the next). Of course, Santorum's plan will eliminate overtime pay for workers b/c if his plan is passed, employers are free from paying the 10 hrs of time and half pay that they now must pay in a standard 40 hr week if you were to work 50 hrs one week and 30 hrs the next week. Currently 100 million workers are eligible to receive overtime pay (my husband is one of them) and in some professions (construction workers, truck drivers) workers will be decimated by the elimination of overtime. Santorum's plan also asks for no more wages for tip workers- if the aggregate tips can equal minimum wage pay, then the employer no longer has to pay a tipped worker anything at all. Now, having waited tables in college (and I think EVERYONE should be made to work as wait staff at least once in their lifetime) I made $2.13 an hr plus tips. I had to declare my tips, and I had to give 1% of my sales to the bussers and dishwashers, and there were times that I made $7.00 an hr w/my tips + pay per hr, but there were times that I made less than $4.00 an hr w/my tips + pay per hr. Let's look at who works tip jobs: Wait staff in restaurants, hairdressers, nail techs, shampooers, valets, bell hops, etc). How many of these jobs are primarily held by females? (who may or may not be single parents) How many of these jobs are filled by college students? How many of these jobs are filled by immigrants and minorities? How many of these jobs are filled by people who cannot obtain educations and therefore must SURVIVE on a job that provides tips/OT in order to LIVE? This Republican war on American workers is reprehensible. It is a long standing legacy of Trickle Down Poverty that de-values the minimum wage worker who works a day of OT or tips b/c their very survival depends upon it, but hey, why don't the Republicans just change the child labor laws too while they're at it? That would open up a whole new pool of previously untapped workers to exploit, and gosh darn, they do have such nimble little fingers and bodies that could fit into small machinery parts and they're cheap-- they could make toddlers work for diapers, and older kids work for juice boxes or fruit roll ups. But, isn't it ironic that during the nearly 8 yrs it has been since the minimum wage has been raised that members of Congress have raised their own salaries 7 times, by a total of $28,500... f-ing hypocritical bastards... b/c a LIVING WAGE is too much to ask for when it comes to an average worker, huh?
Posted by Tina :: 1:29 AM :: 2 Comments:

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