Windy Boy wage bill raising a stir

Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 in Montana is creating quite a stir in Helena, even if, as one lobbyist said, “it doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of being approved.”

The bill will go before the Senate’s Business and Labor Committee Wednesday morning. There, lobbyists and people will be given a chance to speak about the proposal.

Windy Boy sent out a mass email this weekend urging people he suspects will support the bill, SB2, to come out and speak.

Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, said Business and Labor Committee Chair Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, has moved the hearing from the usual meeting place to the old Supreme Court chamber. Windy Boy said Buttrey suspects there may be a large crowd.

Windy Boy said lobbyists will be on hand to fight the legislation, so he’s asking supporters to turn out in large numbers. A big crowd often impresses lawmakers, he said.

“This whole process, being as complex as it is, is strongly influenced by a lot of lobbyists.” he said.

Politicians are always saying they are looking to get high-paying jobs in Montana, and voting for his legislation is the way to get it.

Among those planning to speak at the hearing is Glenn Oppel, government relations director of the Montana Chamber of Commerce. Windy Boy won’t be pleased with what he plans to say.

Oppel said the minimum wage increase will have just the opposite effect on employees, especially young workers.

Businesses, especially mom-and-pop operations will probably have a hard time paying workers the proposed minimum wage and will have to lay off employees or cut back on hours.

Academic studies and information from past minimum wage hikes prove his point, he said.

“There are so many assumptions from the political left about the minimum wage, it’s hard to know where to begin,” he said.

Supporters of higher minimum wage hikes contend that businesses can absorb the added the cost or pass it on to the customer, he said.

Neither option is available to most businesses, he said.

Most businesses are very price sensitive, he said.

Young people learn valuable lessons about the workplace at low-wage starting jobs, he said. They learn about work ethic, showing up on time and performing work properly.

He said he would be more worried about the legislation if he thought there was a chance it would pass.

But the Republican-dominated Montana Legislature will not be excited about the proposal.

In general, in Montana and nationwide, Republicans tend to oppose minimum wage hikes, while Democrats look more favorably on them.

A different point of view on the minimum wage comes from Al Ekblad, executive secretary of AFL-CIO Montana.

Eklad said he sympathized with people living on minimum wage.

“Better wages make better communities,” he said.

The union has supported minimum wages for decades. It was the driving force in the 2006 vote in which Montana voters by a nearly 3-1 margin, set a wage higher than the national wage and indexed it so there would be an annual cost-of-living increase.

Minimum wage hikes have proved popular with voters in recent years, he said. In cities and states, voters have increased the minimum wage even as they elected Republicans to office, he said.

While organized labor backs increased wages, it is unclear how much political capital it will expand on Windy Boy’s effort, and a similar proposal from Rep. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, which would gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Organized labor will be plenty busy with other do-able legislation that Ekblad thinks will have a positive impact on low- and middle-income Montanas.

The AFL-CIO will strongly oppose any efforts to privatize schools in the state, he said, calling public schools “the great equalizer” that has helped many lower- and middle-class Montanans lift themselves up.

Gov. Steve Bullock’s proposal for pre-kindergarten education would be a tremendous advantage for young people, Ekblad said.

And the governor’s plan to expand Medicaid to cover more people would enhance opportunity for health care for many people, he said.

The governor’s environmental proposal would make it easier for coal mines to continue operating in Montana, Ekblad said. Federal officials have shown no concern for miners, he said.