The one exception to my opposition to the no cut in pay rule would be at the minimum wage. The total income from minimum wage at standard hours shouldn't be allowed to be cut. I would suggest you could take this one step further and argue that the dollar amount of the wage increase necessary to maintain minimum wage would make a good benchmark for a minimum across-the-board wage increase.
This is a claim strictly on the basis of economic equity not economics. It's a rhetorically more compelling argument than give us "something for nothing". For example, say the minimum wage is $8 an hour. At 40 hours a week that's $320 a week so the wage for a 32-hour week should be at least $10 an hour, an increase of 25%. That same two-dollar wage increase would represent a 20% wage increase for somebody previously making $10 an hour and a 10% wage increase for someone making $20 an hour. Now at this point you can add in the job protection/job creation angle and the argument about productivity gain and there's no contradiction. Some of the reduction in hours is covered by productivity gains and some of it goes to expand employment. The fact that wages may benefit at the expense of profits is nicely balanced by the fact that the wage scale itself becomes more even. This is called a 'solidaristic' outcome. It's quite the opposite of the two-tier agreements that give concessions for less senior workers while protecting the benefits of the more senior. Speaking of two-tier wage settlements, let's say a union negotiates a contract that preserves $25 an hour wage for existing employees and introduces a $18.50 top for new hires (plus watering down of pension and health insurance plans). Is that "no cut in pay" because the new people never got a chance to make the $25 rate? "'We believe this agreement will play a vital role in making Delphi's U.S. plants economically viable for many years to come, providing greater economic security for current UAW-Delphi workers while laying the foundation for creating new jobs,' added Richard Shoemaker, UAW vice president." Dear Richard, I have news for you... The Sandwichman __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
