"A coalition of Charlottesville area organizations Monday implored the Virginia General Assembly to pass legislation later this week that would increase the state’s minimum wage, which has remained at $5.15 an hour since 1997.

Officials from several local nonprofits called on members of the House of Delegates to support a bill that would bump up the state’s minimum wage to $6.50 per hour starting July 1. Last week the state Senate endorsed the measure, sponsored by Sen. Charles J. Colgan, D-Prince William, by a vote of 31-8.

The bill is expected to go before a subcommittee of the House Labor and Commerce Committee on Thursday, where it is likely to face serious opposition. So far this session the committee has killed several measures that would hike the minimum wage.

“The General Assembly can’t afford to keep foot-dragging when we have families in need,” said Karen C. Waters, executive director of the Quality Community Council, during one of seven news conferences held around the state by the Virginia Organizing Project, a grassroots advocacy group.

The issue could be moot if the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate and House of Representatives can agree on a bill to raise the federal minimum wage. Last month the House approved an increase of the wage to $7.25, while a Senate package tied the spike to $8 billion in tax breaks for small businesses.

Proponents of a higher minimum wage in Virginia say that the General Assembly must act this session because there is no guarantee that the two branches of Congress can reconcile their differences, or that President Bush will sign the measure into law.

“The General Assembly cannot use [federal legislation] as an excuse not to do the right thing,” said Connie Jorgensen, development director for the Monticello Area Community Action Agency.

People in the retail, food services, cleaning and landscaping industries making at or slightly above the minimum wage often struggle to provide for their families, said Jorgensen, noting that the average worker in Virginia earning $5.15 per hour makes only $10,712 a year.

Daniel Carter knows all too well the difficulties of living in Charlottesville while earning close to the minimum wage. As an employee at a local Goodwill store, Carter started off making $6.25 an hour. Carter and his wife, a drugstore manager, have little money leftover each month, and have failed to pay their water bill on multiple occasions.

“It’s hard to live making the minimum wage when you have to pay rent and utilities,” said Carter, 33, who participated in Monday’s news conference.

While it is unknown how many residents in the Charlottesville region earn the minimum wage, approximately 153,000 in Virginia do. Local officials believe the rate in the Charlottesville area is lower than elsewhere in the state because of the region’s minuscule unemployment rate - currently at 2.1 percent - and government policies. Charlottesville possesses a “living wage” ordinance requiring all private contractors doing business with the city to pay employees $9.71 an hour, the income floor for all city workers. Albemarle County officials are considering a similar measure.

Not everyone in the community agrees that the General Assembly should institute a higher minimum wage. Neil Williamson, executive director of the Free Enterprise Forum, argues it is better for the federal government to take action rather than individual states.

“I believe that would create a level playing field for the entire nation,” Williamson said.

Many opponents of a rise in the minimum wage believe it would hurt the local economy in the short-term and cause small business owners to fire some employees to maintain a healthy profit margin.

“If this passes, I anticipate many of those jobs in the retail and food-services fields would be in jeopardy,” said Williamson, whose organization has not taken an official position on the issue.

Those at the news conference strongly disagreed with his conclusion, instead suggesting that the regional economy would get a boost from additional money in workers’ wallets." (Seth Rosen, The Daily Progress, February 13, 2007)