On the day the 25-cent-an-hour minimum wage became the law of the land nearly 50 years ago, a wave of pecan-shelling and tobacco-stemming factories closed throughout the South and industries warned of economic mayhem. When the 25 cent an hour minimum wage became law 50 years earlier, industries warned of economic mayhem. Alarms are likely to be again sounded when Senator Kennedy and Congressman Hawkins introduce legislation to increase today's minimum wage from $3.35 to about $4.65 an hour. Final shape of the bill is not set and may prompt a veto from the president who once said that a minimum wage caused more unemployment and misery than anything since the Great Depression. The Senate has already passed its version of the bill, which would raise wages for all workers in America by $1.10 per hour, or $16.00 over two years.
When the 25 cent an hour minimum wage became law 50 years earlier, industries warned of economic mayhem. Alarms are likely to be again sounded when Senator Kennedy and Congressman Hawkins introduce legislation to increase today's minimum wage from $3.35 to about $4.65 an hour. Final shape of the bill is not set and may prompt a veto from the president who once said that a minimum wage caused more unemployment and misery than anything since the Great Depression. The Senate has already passed its version of the bill, which would raise wages for all workers in America by $1.10 per hour, or $16.00 over two years.