First minimum wage drop in US in 72 years

[joeblow]

First minimum wage drop in US in 72 years
Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:25:53 GMT

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=1 ... id=3510203



Minimum wage in Denver, Colorado, will decrease in the new year, marking the first such decrease in any state's minimum wage since 1938.

Colorado's wage is going to be lessened by 3 cents an hour, from $7.28 to the federal minimum of $7.25.

Amid the global economic crisis which originated from the US, Colorado's state consumer price index fell 0.6 percent last year.

The District of Columbia as well as thirteen other states will keep a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum, according to the US Labor Department.

Alaska will join them Friday when its minimum wage rises 50 cents to $7.75.

Although the drop in Colorado is small, those 48,000 residents earning the minimum shook their heads at the possible cut in their pay.

"It is hard to make it, hard to get by," said John Mullen, 50, an out-of-work construction worker waiting for a bus on a bitterly cold New Year's Eve in Denver. He said he remembers making minimum wage at a factory and having enough for small comforts.

VA/MD