77 Days: Dole consistently votes against working families and raising the minimum wage

DAY 77

For nearly 20 years, Elizabeth Dole refused to see the value of raising the minimum wage, choosing instead to shield herself from the plight of every day workers who depend on the minimum wage to make ends meet and accepting pay raises for herself. Dole was ready to once again prove her anti-worker stance today when she agreed to speak at a rally to oppose legislation protecting workers’ rights.

DOLE HAS CONSISTENTLY VOTED AGAINST RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

2007: Dole Finally Backed Minimum Wage Increase In 2007. In 2007, Dole voted for bipartisan legislation that raised the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour over two years and provided $8.3 billion in small business tax incentives. Only three senators voted against the bill. [Vote 42, 2/1/07]

2006: Dole Voted Against Raising The Minimum Wage. In June 2006, Dole voted against an amendment introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $7.25 per hour. [Associated Press, 6/23/06; Vote 179, 6/21/06]

Dole Voted For Fiscally Irresponsible Wage Package That Included Estate Tax Cut For Wealthiest Americans. In 2006, Dole voted for the so-called “trifecta” bill, which would raise the minimum wage, extend popular expiring tax cuts and permanently cut the estate tax to exempt $5 million of an individual’s estate and tax $25 million estates at a 15% rate. The estate tax measure would cost $268 billion over ten years. “This trifecta is a high-stakes gamble with America's future,” said Sen. Dick Durbin. “This bill will add almost $1 trillion to the debt,” Sen. Harry Reid said. “Eighty-one hundred of the wealthiest families hit the jackpot while working Americans pay the debt.” [Vote 229, 8/3/06; New York Times, 8/4/06; San Francisco Chronicle, 8/4/06; Associated Press, 8/5/06]

2005: Dole Voted Against Minimum Wage Increase Twice. In 2005, Dole voted against an amendment that would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour over 26 months. She also voted against an amendment to raise the minimum wage to $6.25 an hour over one year. [Vote 26, 3/7/05; Vote 257, 10/19/05]

Dole Supported Sham Minimum Wage Increase. In March 2005, Dole voted for a Republican amendment that would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.25 over 18 months in two 55-cent increments. This bill would actually reduce wages for low-income workers by replacing a 40 hour work week with an 80 hour two week accounting period. Under current law, a worker who worked 50 hours in one week and 30 in the next gets 10 hours of overtime pay. Under the amendment the same worker would receive no overtime pay. [Vote 27, 3/7/05; Washington Times, 3/8/05]

Dole Voted For Sham Minimum Wage Increase Again. In an October 2005 procedural vote, Dole voted in support of a sham minimum wage increase that would have raised the minimum wage to $5.70 six months after enactment and to $6.25 eighteen months after enactment. The bill also contained provisions favorable to business including exempting businesses with gross annual sales of under $1 million; permitting private-sector workers to participate in bi-weekly flex-hour programs; excluding tips from the minimum wage rates paid to restaurant workers; and providing tax benefits for small business owners. [Vote 258, 10/19/05; Associated Press, 10/20/05]

DOLE DID NOT SUPPORT RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE IN 2002 CAMPAIGN

2002: Dole Campaign Said Minimum Wage Hike Could Have A Negative Impact. In 2002, Dole spokeswoman Mary Brown Brewer said that Dole would consider raising the minimum wage “if it would not hurt the economy.” Brewer added, “Right now, though, North Carolina’s economy is going through a downturn. In small business today, many businesses are concerned that a minimum wage increase could have a negative impact on jobs, and we certainly can’t afford to lose any more jobs right now.” [Associated Press, 9/24/02]

Dole Campaign Said Repealing Estate Tax Was More Important Than Raising The Minimum Wage. In reaction to criticism over not supporting an increase in the minimum wage, Mary Brown Brewer, a spokeswoman for Elizabeth Dole, “countered that North Carolina families are more likely to be aided by Dole’s support of making permanent last year’s tax cuts, which included a repeal of the estate tax,” according to the Associated Press. Brewer said, “Those are important incentives that will directly impact families.” [Associated Press, 9/24/02]

Dole Said Economy Was Too Shaky To Raise The Minimum Wage In 2002. In an October 2002 meeting with the Raleigh News and Observer editorial board, Dole “said that the economy is too shaky to raise the minimum wage, which would hurt small businesses. She said she favored a bigger earned income tax credit for the working poor.” [Raleigh News and Observer, 10/11/02]

AS LABOR SECRETARY, DOLE TOOK STAND AGAINST WORKING FAMILIES ON THE MINIMUM WAGE

As Secretary Of Labor, Dole Supported Veto Of Minimum Wage Plan. As the Secretary of Labor in 1989, Dole said that a Democratic plan to raise the minimum wage from $3.35 per hour to $4.65 an hour “would call for a veto.” At the time, the minimum wage had remained stagnant since 1981. According to the Raleigh News and Observer, Dole “favored a smaller wage hike at the time that included a lower-level training wage for newly hired workers, and that just such a measure ultimately passed.” [Associated Press, 3/3/89; Economist, 3/18/89; Raleigh News and Observer, 9/20/02]

Dole Supported Bush Plan To Raise The Minimum Wage By Only 30 Cents An Hour Per Year. In 1989, instead of supporting a plan to raise the minimum wage, which remained unchanged since 1981, from $3.35 an hour to $4.65 an hour, Dole backed a plan proposed to President Bush to increase the minimum wage by only 30 cents an hour every year until it reached $4.25 an hour in 1991. Under the Bush plan, all new workers hired at the minimum could be paid $3.35 an hour for the first six months of their employment. Dole said, “Any more expansive approach at this time would be unacceptable because it would decrease job opportunities,” and that any plan that provided for a great increase in the minimum wage “would call for a veto.” [Associated Press, 3/3/89; Economist, 3/18/89]

November 1990: Dole Touted Her Strategy To Take A Hard Line Against Any Higher Wage Measure. In November 1990, Dole spoke about her role in the minimum wage battle with Congress, “The strategy that I developed, which I really had to convince both the President and the White House staff of, ... was that we draw the line in the sand up front: that you go forward with really your bottom line, your best offer… That had to be sold, of course, to the Congress in terms of having veto strength, and we were able to hold the veto in both houses. And once that rate was established, it was clear to the unions that the only way they were going to get an increase in the minimum wage was to focus on the training wage. So we were able to negotiate with the unions to produce the first increase... since 1981, and that was very important because it set the tone for my tenure. It was the first veto by the President, and it was the first Economic Policy Council [meeting] that we had - so it was important.” [National Journal, 11/3/90]

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