Wage Stagnation Hurts Workers More As Prices Rise

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/9128

Lede: Wage stagnation is hurting U.S. workers more as prices rise and job growth falls. Doug Cunningham has this report.

Soaring gas and food prices are making already stagnated wages even more painful for workers across the U.S. On Friday, unemployment was up to a four-year high as 51,000 jobs were cut, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Inflation-adjusted wages, meanwhile, took the biggest drop in eight years last week. Workers’ pay is clearly not keeping up with the ever-rising cost of living. The Economic Policy Institute’s Jared Bernstein says a lack of robust jobs creation has plagued the economy for several years. No jobs growth – no wage growth. Democratic Presidential candidate, Barack Obama wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $9.50 an hour and index it to inflation to put a higher floor under wages. He also wants strong union rights to give workers who want to organize unions the real power to do so without being intimidated by employers. The AFL-CIO says more government economic stimulus is needed to help workers, but long-range public economic policies must also be aimed at boosting wages and creating new jobs in the numbers workers really need.