"An adequate minimum wage is a bedrock moral value for our nation," the faith leaders said in the letter. "Where the Congress sets the minimum wage reflects whether our society truly believes that workers are human beings with inherent dignity, inalienable rights and basic needs such as food, shelter and healthcare."
"Well before the recession, growing numbers of employed men and women sought help at food banks and homeless shelters because they could not live on poverty wages," said the Rev. Steve Copley, chair of Let Justice Roll. "When the federal minimum wage increased to $6.55 last July, it still left workers with less buying power than they had in 1997."
The "$10 in 2010" campaign cites the fact that the scheduled increase in the minimum wage to $7.25 in July 2009 will leave workers about where they were in 1997 and far behind 1968, when the minimum wage reached its peak value of about $10 in 2008 dollars.
"It is immoral that the minimum wage is worth less now than it was the year the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis while fighting for living wages for sanitation workers," said the faith leaders. "Prophetic voices like Dr. King and others throughout the ages have called for justice for the underprivileged and poorest in society."
Let Justice Roll is helping to sponsor a series of "Living Wage Days" events over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. Similar events were held in 2006.
In their call to congress, the faith leaders say that a minimum wage of $10 is necessary to make up ground lost in real wages since 1968; that $10 will bring the nation closer to the goal of the "minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency and general well-being of workers" articulated by the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established the minimum wage 70 years ago.
DeWayne Davis, domestic policy analyst in the Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations, said the church is glad to be a part of the Let Justice Roll campaign, particularly as it helps in outreach to grassroots networks.
"In this time of economic crisis, it is particularly important that we help low-wage workers struggling to support themselves and their families by raising the minimum wage. It is an important part of our 'striving for justice' for workers across the country," said Davis.
The Episcopal Church first voiced its support for a "living wage" in 1997 through Resolution D082 -- passed by deputies and bishops attending the 72nd General Convention in Philadelphia -- urging the church "to become actively involved in promoting the enactment of a living wage, which was defined at the time as $7.50 per hour or $16,000 per year, the then federal poverty line for a family of four.
The 74th General Convention, meeting in Minneapolis in 2003, passed a resolution (C030) urging congress to increase the minimum wage to $8.70, the hourly equivalent of an annual wage of $18,000, again the federal poverty line for a family of four at that time.
Davis said that in keeping with General Convention resolutions calling for a raise in the minimum wage and the implementation of a living wage, the Episcopal Church routinely works closely with other faith groups and allies to advocate before congress.
The faith leaders conclude their letter by saying "The Golden Rule teaches us, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' We call on the 111th Congress to raise the minimum wage and join with us in ending poverty wages."
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