Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Speaking up for workers

Friday, Oct. 27, 2000 | 9:51 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

Three years have passed since the Nevada minimum wage was raised to $5.15 an hour. It's time for another increase when the 2001 Legislature meets in Carson City. If it were raised 60 cents an hour, Nevada would then catch up to the $5.75 an hour paid in California.

Actually this amount won't catch up to our business-competing neighbors to the west because California is raising its minimum wage by 50 cents next year and another 50 cents the following year to $6.75 an hour.

Before the Chamber of Commerce begins to whine, its members should take a close look at the fairness issue. We keep hearing that nobody gets paid today's minimum wage, but much more because of our booming economy. Great, then bringing it up a mere 60 cents or even $1 shouldn't disturb business advocates.

Very simply, the time has arrived for Nevada to boost the minimum wage that has been in effect since 1997. Bringing it up to $6 or $6.15 per hour with a 45- or 50-cent increase next year and another 40 or 50 cents the following year would not only be fair, but it also would be good for everybody, including the businesses patronized by local workers.

Better yet would be for the Republican-dominated Congress to get off of its duff today and pass a flat federal minimum wage increase of $1 without any additional gimmicks. President Clinton's bill would raise the federal standard to $5.65 next year and then to $6.15 the following year. However, Congress has added a bunch of nonsense in hopes of killing the bill.

Nevada has a long history of making its minimum wage equal to the federal standard. Action by Congress gives our Legislature the cover it wants from incoming rounds fired by the Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations that see even the smallest wage increase as being too much.

If Congress finally finds its heart, and takes a close look at the nonunion employees now working for $5.15 an hour, it should act. Too many members of society and elected officials seldom see or spend time with those workers at the lowest wage level. They are forced to hear unions representing workers because of their power at the ballot box. The voices that aren't heard are muffled by campaign contributions and the threats of a few selfish business groups.

Who does all of the dirty work that most of us and our children don't want to do? It's done by hard-working Americans who are willing to sweat and get dirty eight and 10 hours every day at minimum wages. At the end of a shift they must go home and feed their families and care for their school and health needs. This is why so many Americans, working at minimum wages, sit at home with their mates at night and hope that both of them have earned enough that week to meet the family needs.

These Americans don't have a loud voice, but they are important to all of us. It's their children who will make our economic system continue to flourish and answer the call of military service when our nation is challenged.

Therefore the health, education and security of these families can't be ignored. They don't want charity; they only want to be treated fairly and given the opportunity to work so their children can climb that well-known ladder to American success.

Many people don't want to admit it, but these Americans are the people who work at wages that allow the rest of us to purchase food and other commodities at reasonable prices. In all fairness we should expect them to also receive some of these benefits.

Certainly $6.15 an hour is the very least they should expect from us.