Jobs Matter: "When Good Out Weighs the Bad"

By Employment Job Coach Connie Taylor

The minimum wage for Missourians remained at $5.15 for 10 years until a law was passed in 2006 to increase it each year for cost of living/inflation changes.  The minimum wage increased to $5.85 in 2007, $6.55 in 2008, $7.25 in 2009, and in January 2014 it increased to $7.50.

Advocates for higher minimums say it’s past time to make the wage floor do a better job reflecting the cost of living. According to polls, most Americans say the current minimum, at whatever level, isn’t enough to provide a livable wage for a full-time worker trying to maintain a household.

Although $7.50 an hour is less than most of our families need to survive, is it an improvement for entry-level employees. Due to limited education (no high school diploma or high school equivalency) and little or no work history, many of our clients earn minimum wage and work less than 25 hours per week until they prove themselves on the job. Once they reach full time 40 hour weeks, their income is still less than $16,000 a year.

Last week, I called one of our residents to check on his progress. He said that he was actually on his way to my office to talk. His very words were, “I have good news and bad news.”  I was unsure what to expect knowing that he had only been on his job for a few weeks.  I later discovered that his dilemma was much like most of the families we serve. Now that he was earning an income ($7.50 an hour) he would no longer be eligible to receive TANF cash assistance ($232 a month). In fact, the money he was expecting had not been deposited in his account the day before. His first paycheck, which was for less than 40 hours, was only around $40.00. He would have to wait another week before he would receive any additional income. Sadness gripped my heart as I thought about his circumstances and his inability to see past his current circumstances of “not enough.”

Then the good news. His job was offering him an opportunity to transfer to a new location where he would be scheduled 40 hours a week and considered a full time, regular employee. He would no longer be required to float between two stores miles apart. 

 

The highlight of our conversation was that his employer was very pleased with his work. Because he had proven his ability to perform his job duties and displayed responsibility and trust, he is now moving up to a better, full time position. He was told that his income is likely to increase by $1.00 an hour over the next few months, as long as he remains stable.

Good news for a job well done!