Wage increase means money for employees

By BETH LUCAS
Collegian Staff Writer

A possible increase of minimum wage to $6.15 an hour would force Penn State and local businesses to pay higher wages and allow students to bring home bigger paychecks.

For the second consecutive year, President Clinton proposed in his State of the Union Address to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.15 an hour in two one-year increments of 50 cents.

The Senate rejected his original request last September in a 55-44 vote. Pennsylvania Congressmen have just received the new proposition and are reviewing it, according to their offices.

The wage increase would bring the level closer to its 1968 counterpart of $1.60. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the purchasing power of the 1968 wage is equal to the purchasing power of $7.38 in 1997 dollars.

Only eight states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than the federal level. Oregon's minimum wage is the highest at $6.50 an hour.

Campus positions start with wages at $5.25 an hour, including positions with the Office of Housing and Food Service Operations, Pattee and commons desks.

"We hope the increase has a positive affect and that more students find (campus) jobs more attractive," Fred Fotis, director of the office, said.

He added some areas had difficulty filling positions last semester and the office had to keep temporary workers longer than expected.

"It would certainly be an advantage for students, allowing them to earn more money," Fotis said.

Cuts in other areas would help accommodate for the increase, he added.

Pennsylvania has a statute requiring the state legislature to raise the minimum wage when the federal government does. It can raise the wages to higher levels than the federal government but cannot decrease wages, said Audrey Kolenda, administrative assistant for the Bureau of Labor Law Compliance.

Simon Shung (junior-chemical engineering) works at Pattee and said the increase would be helpful for him, but in the long run it would only increase inflation.

"I think they should slow down (the increases) and leave it the way it is," he said.

Paul Graf, Penn State economics lecturer, said higher wages would likely increase the demand for employment. That increase could displace those who were willing to work for the lower wages, he said.

Ed Miller, manager at Taco Bell, 322 W. College Ave., said he is not overly concerned about an increase and Taco Bell would not be affected as much as smaller mom-and-pop shops might be.

"We already pay well above minimum wage," Miller said.

Students already paid more than minimum wage also may want a raise if the minimum is increased, Brian Hensal (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said.

"Personally, it doesn't bother me," he added, saying he makes $7.75 an hour. "I think anytime anyone gets more money, it is a good thing."

Source: U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Congressional Files
Graphic: Daryl Lang