WHEREAS, more than 10 million Americans who hold jobs earn so little that they fall below the poverty line; and

WHEREAS, job growth since the end of the recession in 2009 has occurred primarily in low-wage and/or part-timeoccupations, continuing a decades-long trend in the U.S. economy toward lower-paying work; and

WHEREAS, the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour, is reflective of this trend as it has since 1968 fallen far behind the rate of inflation, and if it had kept up with inflation would instead be more than $10.59 per hour today; and

WHEREAS, a bill in Congress, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour by 2015 in three steps of 95 cents each; and

WHEREAS, the bill would also adjust the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation, and would also raise the minimum wage for tipped workers — which has for more than 20 years been stuck at $2.13 an hour — to 70 percent of the full minimum wage; and

WHEREAS, President Obama has thrown his support behind the bill; and

WHEREAS, although just 5 percent of American workers make $7.25 an hour, the bill would lead to higher wages for the 21.4 percent of U.S. workers, more than 30 million people, who are now paid less than $10.10 per hour, and would also benefit these workers’ 17 million children; and

WHEREAS, raising the minimum wage would both help families and strengthen the economy as working people would have more money to spend, which would generate an estimated $32 billion in new economic activity, leading to the creation of 140,000 new full-time jobs; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the United Federation of Teachers supports the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 and will work to support its passage in Congress.