Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1952-11-29
one hand towel and two face

one mana tower anu TWO Lace
cloths every year
For the husband:
An overcoat every z years
A raincoat every 1914 years
A bathrobe every 1917 years
House slippers every 5 years
For the wife:
A skirt every years
A blouse every years
A nightgown every year
A bathrobe every 20 years
Each member of the family can
have his teeth cleaned by dentist
on an average of less than once
every two years.
1t permits only four paid adj
missions a year for the entire
family to plays, concerts or sports
events.
Although the budget is meant to
apply to a family with two grow
ing children, it does not even allow
for two quarts of milk a day for
the entire family. 1t permits less
than one egg per day for each
member of the family. Most of
the meat it provides for is of the
low price kind such as stews, ham,
burger and frankfurters, with very
little allowed for roasts, steaks or
chops.
Yet to meet this budget, which
represents what the Bureau of
Labor Statistics calls the total
dollars necessary to provide family
health, worker efficiency, nurture
of children and social participation
by all members of the family" the
average laundry worker or hosiery
worker or worker in a tobacco
stemmery would have to double his
weekly wage.
In current prices the food part
of the budget alone cost S11OO
to $1,000. This is considerably more
than half of the total income of a
worker earning $40 or less per
week.
Low-wage workers have been
particularly hurt by the failure of
the Wage Sterilization Board to
develop policy with regard to
substandard wages. Under the
present policies of the Board per-
MISSILE wage increases are stated
IN percentage terms. 1t can be
readily seen that this means
smaller dollar amount for low
wage workers. For example, if a
worker earning $1.60 in January,
$3.50, is permitted an increase of
IA per cent, this amounts to %
cents. On the other hand, the
worker earning only $1.20 is per-
mitted the same maximum per-
centage increase, which is less than
/ II cents.
This is obviously an unjust treat
ment of loW-age workers. There is
need for a new regulation which
| will say, in effect, that anyone
who earns less than certain
minimum amount is permitted to
receive a wage increase up to that
level regardless of what that in
crease may be in money or per-
centage terms.
Such policy has already been
applied to farm workers. They are
now permitted to receive increases
up to 50 cents an hour plus Is per
cent, cor roughly $1.10. However,
nothing has been done for non
| agricultural workers working at
substandard wages.
1t seems clear that there is i'm
mediate need for the Wage Stabi-
llzatlon Board to adopt a policy
which will permit increases to
bring lowWage workers up to a
level high enough to sustain
themselves and their families at
decent standard Of living.
A wage sterilization policy for
substandard workers is not the
whole answer to the problem of
increasing the standard of living
of low-wage workers. There is also
a job to do on the legislative front.
Despite the more than 10 per cent
increase in the cost of living which
has occurred since 1949, when the
Fair Labor Standards Act was am
ended, the minimum wage has re-
manned unchanged at rs cents an
hour. The American Federation of
Labor has urged that the minimum
wage be increased to at least $1.10
an hour.
Even this will not protect many