…let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
- Amos 5:24 (NRSV)
This afternoon religious leaders held a press conference on Capitol Hill with Senator Edward Kennedy calling for an increase in the minimum wage.
At the press conference a report entitled A Just Minimum Wage: Good for Workers, Business and Our Future was released by the Let Justice Roll: Faith Community Voices Against Poverty campaign, a project of the National Council of Churches USA. The report was written by Holly Sklar and The Rev. Dr. Paul H. Sherry. Dr. Sherry is a former general minister and president of the United Church of Christ.
Their report outlines how raising the minimum wage would help lift people out of poverty:
Wages are a bedrock moral issue. Wages reflect our personal values and our nation’s values. Wages reflect whether we believe workers are just another cost of business – like rent, electricity or raw materials – or human beings with inherent dignity, human rights and basic needs such as food, shelter and health care.
The minimum wage is where society draws the line:
This low and no lower….
The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 an hour since September 1997. That’s more than eight years at $5.15 as the cost of living rises….
Today’s minimum wage is not a fair wage – economically or ethically. It is not good for workers, business or our nation’s future.
The Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, general-secretary of the National Council of Churches, sat down with me for a few minutes in Baltimore after the press conference to talk about the campaign and NCC’s General Assembly which beings tomorrow.
You can download the podcast of our interview for your IPod or computer through this link:
(click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).
I was in Baltimore for two days attending a NCC committee meeting held prior to the start of the General Assembly. This morning I was able to talk for a few minutes with Dr. Sherry as well. He’ll be heading out to Portland this weekend for the UCC's Racial Justice Convocation.
