The statement “…minimum wage was never intended to be a living wage…” by state Senator Timmy French is not accurate. His erroneous comment was made in explaining why he voted against a bill to raise Virginia’s minimum wage. A Google search finds that “The national minimum wage was created by Congress under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938…. which provided for minimum wages, overtime pay, record keeping requirements, and child labor regulations. The purpose of the minimum wage was to stabilize the post-depression economy and protect the workers in the labor force. The minimum wage was designed to create a minimum standard of living to protect the health and well-being of employees.” (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School)
Senator French went on to add another reason for his vote against the wage: “Minimum wage today is currently $12. They [bill sponsors] want to go to $13.50, I think, in 2025, and then go to $15 after that. And $15 is a lot for someone who doesn’t realize they need to show up on time, maybe 10 minutes early.”
I understand and appreciate that Senator French could, like any of us, be mistaken about our country’s rich, political history even when he uses his mistaken history as a reason to vote for or against a bill. However, his expressed opinion of Valley workers disappoints me. His observation about workers not showing up on time reveals his lack of empathy for the Valley grandparents who have to work in a service job because they are rearing a grandchild instead of enjoying retirement; his comment shows no empathy for the teenager who works to help support his/her family; his comment illustrates that he has an unfounded view that most Valley workers do not possess soft skills (reporting on time) because he believes gossip, not facts, about Valley workers; and last, his comment tells me that Senator French thinks a Valley parent can support even a small family on less than $15 an hour.
Senator French and I must not observe the same Valley workers. I see folks who are punctual, polite, and professional, even in the most menial tasks. The workers I see support their families, pay taxes, and send their children to school so they can improve their station in life. In short, the workers I see are out every day laboring to “create a minimum standard of living to protect the health and well-being of [themselves and their families].”
I am aware of the outliers in our labor force, but the ones, to cite Senator French, who do not even show up on time, should not be the rule, but the exception. To use outliers to dictate thinking, as Senator French demonstrates, is as faulty as not knowing and understanding our nation’s history.
I suggest Senator French read Blue-Collar Journal: A College President’s Sabbatical by John R. Coleman and then during the next legislative recess, follow Coleman’s example in a location where he is not known.
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