THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 15, 1994 TAG: 9407140067
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RONJIT GOUDAR and ALAN CHANG, HIGH SCHOOL, CORRESPONDENTS
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
WHAT MIGHT your burger-flipping salary buy these days?
A: A used convertible.
B: A year's supply of notebooks.
C: A shopping trip to the dollar store.
If you chose A, you probably don't work for minimum wage, unlike many local teens. Saving $7,000 for a used convertible would take over a year and a half working 20 hours a week at a minimum wage job - the only kind of job most teens are qualified for. And that assumes no taxes are paid and not one penny is spent.
Earlier this year, a Minnesota senator introduced a bill to raise the minimum wage, to no avail. Virginia U.S. Rep. Owen B. Pickett (D) said he believes that the current minimum wage is in line with the cost of living. He also thinks that a minimum wage hike would hurt our local economy. Pickett predicts that the the number of low-paying service jobs in our area would fall if the minimum wage was raised.
According to Pickett's office, there is no pending minimum wage legislation, but some local teens think that their time is worth more than $4.25 an hour. Stephanie Risner, a 17-year-old rising senior at Deep Creek High School, found it hard to buy the things she wanted on her $4.25 an hour salary.
Stephanie says, ``I think that the minimum wage should be raised to around $4.80 per hour, to match the rising cost of living.''
Other teens say that the non-financial benefits are what make minimum wage jobs worthwhile.
``Minimum wage is enough to start out for inexperienced workers,'' said Veronica Butts, 17, a 1994 graduate of Bayside High School. Since most minimum wage jobs don't require special skills, they don't merit the higher salaries usually reserved for more skilled labor, she said.
After resigning from a position at an Arby's restaurant last summer, it took Veronica almost eight months to land her current job as a stocker at a Dollar Tree store. Although she only earns $4.25 an hour, she claims that this experience will help her ``learn the value of a dollar.''
The job can be difficult, especially when she has to keep a smile on her face while a customer argues with her. But, Veronica says, ``Hard work pays off. . . . I learn how to deal with people. The best thing about any job, no matter if they pay you four dollars an hour or nine, is you can pay for things yourself.''
Karl Mertig, 18, a 1994 graduate of Nansemond River High, said that minimum wage is a great motivator.
``It teaches teens the value of a good education,'' Karl said. ``They get to see exactly what kind of job they'll get if they don't get a good education.''
Karl also considers jobs to be character-builders. He explains, ``In my present job (at a local golf course), I was the lowest guy on the totem pole for two years. I got all the terrible jobs that no one else wanted.''
No teen interviewed for this story thought that a teenager who worked minimum wage salary could possibly pay college tuition. Ed Klima, 18, a 1994 graduate of First Colonial High, complains that ``college tuition is psychotically expensive.''
In fact, if someone got a job the moment they turned 16 and worked 20 hours a week until they were 18 and a half and saved every penny, they'd only have $11,050 to pay for college. That's before taxes or social security or money for transportation to work.
Still, thousands of workers make do with the minimum wage. As Jason Kello, 17, a rising senior at Franklin High puts it: ``It's better than watching TV.'' MEMO: Ronjit Goudar and Alan Chang wrote this story as part of the
newspapers' eighth annual Minority Journalism Workshop. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Ronjit Goudar is a junior at Norfolk Collegiate.
Alan Chang is a junior at Kempsville High School.
Graphic
MINIMUM PAY
Recent minimum wage increases:
19782.65
19792.90
19803.10
19813.35
19903.80
19914.25
by CNB