07-21-2015, 03:13 PM
(07-21-2015, 03:06 PM)Benton Wrote: Er, sorta, but backwards.
For a long time unions helped indirectly determine a basic pay rate for an area. That's why areas that have more union workers typically have higher incomes. If you live in an area with lots of union manufacturing jobs, you probably have an overall higher payscale for everything from car salesmen to gas station employees. So unions effect the average wage in places, but they don't go up in wages just because the minimum wage goes up. Although, a minimum wage hike will probably be part of any labor negotiation for a pay increase.
That's been part of the reason wages have fallen off since the 80s and the weakening of unions. Cost of living continues to rise, but there are fewer unions to offset that increase by negotiating pay increases on behalf of larger groups.
But I agree with you and Matt, no federal minimum wage. Although I would add that there should be a requirement states have some minimum wage statute.
I was referring to this: http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/01/12/just-why-are-the-unions-supporting-a-rise-in-the-minimum-wage/
Quote:Organized labor’s instantaneous support for President Obama’s recent proposal to hike the minimum wage doesn’t make much sense at first glance. The average private-sector union member—at least one who still has a job—earns $22 an hour according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s a far cry from the current $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage, or the $9 per hour the president has proposed. Altruistic solidarity with lower-paid workers isn’t the reason for organized labor’s cheerleading, either.
The real reason is that some unions and their members directly benefit from minimum wage increases—even when nary a union member actually makes the minimum wage.
The Center for Union Facts analyzed collective-bargaining agreements obtained from the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. The data indicate that a number of unions in the service, retail and hospitality industries peg their base-line wages to the minimum wage.
