President Bush said that he could support an increased minimum wage only if Senate also established a sub-minimum training wage. Labor Secretary Bush had told the Senate of that position the day before . Senator Kennedy , chairman of the committee is opposed to the training wage. Mrs. Dole said that the "skills gap" could be erased through job-training programs. Organized labor believes that some employers would use the lower, training wage for hiring and would lay off higher paid workers. ``We're going to get it raised this year for sure,'' Kennedy 's bill would increase the wage from $ 4.55 to $ 3.35 per hour in three annual 4.55 increases.
President Bush said that he could support an increased minimum wage only if Senate also established a sub-minimum training wage. Labor Secretary Bush had told the Senate of that position the day before . Senator Kennedy , chairman of the committee is opposed to the training wage. Mrs. Dole said that the "skills gap" could be erased through job-training programs. Organized labor believes that some employers would use the lower, training wage for hiring and would lay off higher paid workers. Kennedy 's bill would increase the wage from $ 4.55 to $ 3.35 per hour in three annual 4.55 increases.