MINIMUM AND SUB-MINIMUM WAGE

WHEREAS, inflation has sharply eroded the value of the minimum wage since January 1978, when the Congress set the minimum wage; and

WHEREAS, America's lowest paid working families are suffering severe economic hardship and the loss of their purchasing power plays a part in deepening and prolonging the present recession; and

WHEREAS, instead of urging an increased minimum wage to protect the neediest workers, the Reagan administration has instead recommended a $2.50 per hour sub-minimum wage for those under the age of 22, to be in effect each year from May through September; and

WHEREAS, such a sub-minimum wage would base a worker's wage on age rather than on the value of the work performed, and would encourage the replacement of adult workers with sub-minimum wage youth; and

WHEREAS, the concept of such a subminimum "youth" wage was rejected by the Minimum Wage Commission in 1981; and

WHEREAS, there is no evidence that such a scheme would increase job opportunities:

RESOLVED , that the AFT urges Congress to reject the President's proposal for a sub-minimum wage for youth; and

RESOLVED, that the present minimum wage should be increased to restore the purchasing power lost by this country's lowest paid workers.