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Workers and WagesAs the federal government searches for bold new initiatives to jumpstart the economy, several policy proposals could be enacted at the state level. Government and private industry should consider an emergency jobs program that would offset, in part, unemployment increases and declining wages.
In 1983 the Minnesota Emergency Employment Development program (MEED) began as a two-year, $70 million program to create temporary jobs in government and nonprofit agencies and permanent jobs in the private sector. MEED offered employers up to $4 an hour in wage subsidies and $1 an hour in benefits for 26 weeks to hire people who had been state residents for at least one month, were unemployed and were ineligible for unemployment insurance and workers' compensation.
Over its existence, MEED enrolled about 42,000 people, with more than 64 percent filling private sector jobs. It created more than 18,000 permanent jobs (more than was projected) at a net cost per permanent job of around $3,100. This kind of investment not only buoys personal finances but stabilizes communities.
In addition to job creation, Catholic Charities USA is advocating for the guarantee of a limited number of paid sick days for low-wage workers. Seventy-nine percent of low-wage workers have no paid sick days, and more than one million Minnesota workers lack this basic benefit.
Minnesota’s minimum wage remains woefully inadequate at $6.55. If the 1968 minimum wage would have kept pace with inflation, it would now be $9.66. According to research by the JobsNow Coalition, a worker in the metro area supporting a family of four must earn $17.30 per hour to meet basic needs.
Legislative Directions:
- Invest in an emergency jobs program
- Pass legislation guaranteeing a minimum of four paid sick days a year
- Raise the minimum wage from $6.55 to $8.25 per hour
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