The U.S. Senate on Aug. 3 turned back a "poison pill" effort by Republicans to attach the permanent repeal of the estate tax to a bill increasing the federal minimum wage. GOP leaders in the Senate were unable to secure the votes needed to move to consideration of the bill.

The vote represents an important victory for the AFT and the labor movement, who have been in the forefront of an ongoing campaign to support legislation in Congress raising the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour. Just before the August recess, the Republican-led House of Representatives--in what the AFT called a "cynical election-year ploy"--passed H.R. 5970, which packaged a minimum wage increase to $7.25 per hour with an estate tax giveaway of more than $700 billion benefiting America's wealthiest families Making matters worse, the bill would strip hundreds of thousands of workers who earn tips in seven states (Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington) of the right to be paid the state or federal minimum wage. (Click here to see how your member of Congress voted.  A "no" voted supported the AFT position.)

Despite this setback, the AFT swung into action with other AFL-CIO affiliates and launched an e-Activist campaign asking more than 25,000 AFT members to urge their senators not to support legislation combining a minimum wage increase with the repeal of the estate tax.

"This victory for working people happened in part because of the thousands of AFT members calling and writing Congress," said AFT legislative director Tor Cowan. "I am certain that working families and others will remember this legislative stunt and send a message to their elected representatives on Election Day in November that the needs of hardworking Americans have been ignored for too long."

August 4, 2006