Recent minimum-wage increase bolsters lives of many in Montana

Letter to the Editor,

While sluggish job growth continues to cloud the post-recession recovery, Montana offers a bright spot. Approximately 22,000 of Montana’s lowest-paid workers got a raise this January as the state’s minimum wage increased by 15 cents to $7.80.

 Thanks to a ballot initiative supported by labor and approved by more than 70 percent of Montana voters in 2006, the state’s minimum wage automatically adjusts every year to keep pace with the rising cost of living – this key policy reform, known as “indexing,” has already been adopted by nine other states. As a result, for those Montanans who do the hard work like cleaning buildings, serving food, and providing care for the elderly, the buying power of their wages will not gradually erode as the cost of basic expenses like food, gas, and utilities continues to rise.

 As the country debates how best to create jobs and accelerate the growth of a strong economy, elected officials from all over the country could learn from the example Montana has set in addressing the urgent problems of America’s low-wage economy. 

After more than three years since the official end of the recession, workers are still putting in longer hours with little to show for it.

 When large numbers of skilled adult workers find themselves relying on the minimum wage, there is something seriously wrong with our economy.

 It’s time to make a change. Our nation should follow Montana’s example by requiring indexing of the minimum wage for all workers nationwide. A national response is required in order to preserve the American dream of upward economic mobility. A fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work is the place to start.

— Al Ekblad

Montana AFL-CIO