Dems Stop GOP from Playing Games with America's Poorest Workers

Senate Democrats this week refused to cave in to a Republican scheme that would have increased the minimum wage for some workers but only by tying their miniscule raise to a repeal of the estate tax for America's richest families.

Republicans thought themselves so clever that some even boasted to reporters that they had put their opponents in a box: Vote with us or be prepared for campaign ads claiming Democrats rejected a minimum wage hike.

But Democrats stood firm, heeding the calls of the AFL-CIO and newspapers across the country. "So it's crumbs for the working poor and a bonanza for the children of the superrich," said the Des Moines Register. "This is the House Republicans' idea of a fair and balanced bill? Could they possibly be more out of touch with the struggles of ordinary Americans?"

The Senate never voted on the bill itself. Instead, the Democrats' solidarity kept the bill from getting the necessary 60 votes to cut off debate Thursday before senators left for summer vacation.

The bill would have raised the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour over three years but it would have excluded millions of workers who rely on tips for part of their wages.

The so-called "Tipped Wage Fairness" provision would have invalidated state laws that require employers to pay the minimum wage regardless of a worker's tips. Currently, Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have such laws on the books.

Combining a repeal of the estate tax with such a provisions meant that "under the Republican bill, Paris Hilton and her family will get $250 million, while the tipped workers in Hilton hotels will lose up to $5.50 an hour," Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) said.

Even with the estate tax repeal for the super rich, a minimum wage increase was distasteful to many Republicans, who have voted down nine proposed increases in the last decade while raising their own salaries by $31,000.

"There's a general agreement among Republicans (opposing the raise) that, 'maybe we don't like it much but we need to move forward with it just for political reasons,'" Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) admitted in a CBS interview.