THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 1, 1996 TAG: 9610010276
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 21 lines
Nearly 4 million American workers are getting a pay raise today.
The minimum wage rises 50 cents to $4.75 an hour, the first of two increases enacted by a sharply divided Congress that will boost the minimum wage to $5.15 an hour next Sept. 1.
The 90-cent raise means an additional $1,800 annually for a full-time worker. The last increase, 45 cents, was in April 1991.
``The minimum wage is not going to cure poverty in one fell swoop,'' Labor Secretary Robert Reich said. ``But clearly this is a major step forward for hard-working people at the bottom rung of our economy.''
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said 3.66 million hourly workers earn at or below the current minimum.
KEYWORDS: MINIMUM WAGE SALARIES by CNB