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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1980)
Teenage subminimum wage sparks debate By STEPHEN KNIGHT Of th« Emerald University students who com pete with teenagers for part time jobs may have a problem if Pres.-elect Ronald Reagan keeps his campaign promise on the minimum wage. Reagan has said he hopes to reduce unemployment in part by lowering the minimum wage for teenagers. Teenage unemployment hovers around 18 percent. For black teenagers it’s about 3d percent. According to propon ents, a subminimum wage law would give businesses an in centive to employ jobless teen agers who occupy the lowest strata of the job market. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, recently predicted that when "the minimum wage goes up to $3.35 an hour, thousands—no hundreds of thousands—of kids will lose their jobs because businesses just aren’t going to pay that much for young people who are only worth $2.50 an hour." Hatch, the new chairer of the Senate Labor Committee, and others believe a subminimum wage would give thousands of idle teens a chance to join the country’s work force. But not everyone agrees. Irv Fletcher of the Lane County Labor Council claims the subminimum wage proposal is nothing more than “a subsidy for big businesses.” "Lower wages would just give businesses an incentive to re place older workers with cheaper teenage labor,” Fletcher says. Fletcher says he doesn't see why paying young people less would create more jobs. In theory, part of the cut in wages is a price for training an un skilled worker, but 99 percent of teenagers' jobs require no skill at all, he maintains. “It takes a kid about 15 min utes to learn his job at McDon ald’s.” Fletcher says McDonald’s, which employs thousands of teenagers, is the major ben eficiary of such legislation, along with businesses such as janitorial services, restaurants, motels and nursing homes. But Karl Frederick, employee benefits director of the As sociation of Oregon Industry, says it's "ridiculous” to assume the proposal is a plot to put money in the pockets of big business. I op <bt at the Turning Point Perms $25 includes haircut Reg. $37.50 Personalized Haircut $6 Reg. $10 Hair Coloring $15 Reg. $20 $25 includes conditioning and style Call 343-4813 ' ask for Claire Bring this coupon Expires 1-1-81 “Most industries are paying way above the minimum wage and have nothing to gain from a lowering of wages for teen agers” Frederick says. Because of the minimum wage many youths have been squeezed out of the job market by older workers, he claims, citing a study done by Finis Welch, a UCLA economics professor and Rand corporation consultant. The study concluded min imum wage laws have failed since the 1930s. Welch says the minimum wage freezes out marginal employees and new entrants. Like Welch, Frederick ad vocates abolishing the minimum wage and replacing it with a “learning wage.” Many Eu ropean countries, Washington and California have two-tiered wage scales, he says. Fletcher argues the subwage laws in Washington and Califor nia only apply to a low number of small businesses. Black teenagers who are suffering the most from high unemployment would benefit the most from a “learning wage,” Fletcher says. A sub wage law would stimulate small retailers and other businesses to create jobs in the inner city, he says. “To believe McDonald's is going to open three restaurants in Harlem just because they can pay a black kid less is bullshit,” he says. Black teenagers are the vic tims of discrimination, not the amount of the wage itself, he adds. How would teenage college students be affected by a sub minimum wage law? Frederick says most wage proposals deal with non-college students. “It’s the 14 to 16 year old group that we are truly con cerned about." However, Oregon Student Lobbyist Bob Watrus is con cerned about the measure. The federal subwage proposal strongly resembles the Student Learner Exemption Bill that he and others fought for two years to repeal, Watrus says. The bill allowed employers to hire college students for less than the minimum wage. Watrus says the OSL was successful in getting state wages for college students raised to federal levels this year under the Higher Education Amendment of 1980. Watrus says he fears a sub minimum wage law for teenagers on a federal level could nullify the Higher Educa tion Amendment. Meanwhile, Fletcher says he has a wait-and-see attitude about the possibility of college students being affected by sub wage legislation. Another problem with the possible legislation is whether teenagers currently employed would have their wages lowered if the subwage proposal becomes law. I Frederick says the legislation would not be retroactive and would apply only to new en trants. Fletcher says "big business" interpreted Reagan's victory in November as a mandate to roll back labor’s gains over the last three decades. And labor probably will be on the defen sive for at least four years against anti-labor legislation such as the subwage proposal for teenagers, he predicts Can't get airline connections? Use our aircraft charter service for your holiday travel! We can fly you directly to the destination of your choice at a time convenient to you at a reasonable cost. 688-9291 9054 Boeing Drive Eugene, OR 97402 TURN YOUR ROOKS INTO CASH! Book Buyback has moved to the basement lobby area. Starts Monday, December 15, and ends Saturday, December 20. I Our Buyback Policy: 1. You get half-price— if a faculty member has ordered the book for the next quarter. However, at times we have more books for a class than needed and we will not buy these books at the half price 2. You get Dealer prices— for those texts not needed on this campus We ll pay the price offered by book dealers, which is based on the need for the book in the national market UO BOOKSTORE 13th & Kincaid 686-4331 Open: Mon-Fri 8:15-5:30 ___ 3. We do not accept— old editions, spiral-bound books, programmed texts, certain inexpensive paperbacks, workbooks, most consignment material, and extensively cribbed or damaged books They are of no value to us or the used book dealers We purchase such books only at our option. When to sell your books— The buyback counter, located upstairs, is open during regular business hours. It's not necessary to wait for a specific buying period to resell your books However, the best service can be had during the above time period because we have arranged with the wholesale book company to have their buyers at the Bookstore on these dates