CHAMBERS READY FOR MINIMUM-WAGE FIGHT

Although nobody knows if a minimum-wage proposal will make November's ballot, chambers of commerce are starting the fight against it.

The Association for Community Organized Reform Now, a nationwide group trying to increase the minimum wage, started a petition drive to get the issue on the general election ballot Nov. 5.

ACORN's ballot measure would raise Missouri's minimum wage to $6.25 an hour in 1997, $6.50 in 1998, $6.75 in 1999 and 15 cents a year thereafter. The current wage is at $4.25 and will increase to $5.15 over 13 months.

The measure isn't on the ballot yet. According to a spokesperson with the secretary of state's office, the petition results will be certified Sept. 10. The total number of signatures needed -- estimated at 75,000 -- is based on the number of people who voted in the last gubernatorial election.

Chambers of commerce across the state, including the ones in Cape Girardeau and Sikeston, are strongly opposed to the measure. They say it may sound good to low-wage employees, but it will end up costing jobs.

The Cape Girardeau chamber is dispensing brochures on the issue to business owners and anyone else who wants them.

Sikeston chamber members are going a step further. Chamber Executive Director Steve McPheeters said people on the organization's legislative committee plan to visit businesses and speak with employees.

McPheeters said a minimum-wage increase would force employers to let some people go and force the remaining people to work harder. Business owners may choose to move the business to a state where the wage is lower.

"We're seeing some growth here we haven't seen in a long time," McPheeters said. "We want to keep it going."

John Mehner, Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce president, said people forget that a minimum-wage increase will affect more than minimum-wage workers. Union employees whose salaries are tied to the minimum wage would get more money, too. That could drive larger companies out of business.

ACORN Campaign Director Craig Robbins disagrees.

"We have heard that about every single minimum-wage increase that has been proposed," he said. "Six years ago, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce was being quoted as saying 40,000 jobs would be lost in the state if the wage was increased. There is no history of that happening."

Oregon, California and Montana also have ACORN initiatives on their November ballots. If they pass, Robbins said, those states may see economic stimulation. Minimum-wage employees will have more money to spend in their hometowns.

ACORN expects to mobilize workers who make less than $6.70 per hour.

One of those workers is Paul Babers of Cape Girardeau. At 17, he is too young to vote, but he wants the ACORN initiative to pass.

Babers works at the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri for 27 hours a week. He cleans cat and dog cages and administers vitamins and medication to the animals. His take-home pay is about $215 every two weeks.

"I'd be flying high if I made $6.25," Babers said. "There may be more work to do if there are fewer jobs, but I'll do as much as I have to get the job done."

Josh Hogan, a Southeast Missouri State University graduate with a degree in finance, said he is against the proposal. Hogan works two relatively low-paying jobs while looking for employment in his field.

"It will drive up costs," he said. "And some jobs don't deserve that much money. I would rather be paid that much because I was worth it."

His sentiments echo that of State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau. The legislator said the minimum wage has been established as a training wage, not something people should be paid for a lifetime.

Kinder expects the measure to be defeated if proper education on the issue is done.