Business: Lifting the Minimum Wage

Labor claims a big victory

Exultation filled the headquarters of the AFL-CIO last week—and with good reason. After a series of rebuffs from the overwhelmingly Democratic Congress it had helped elect, labor won its first significant legislative victory of the year. Against the vigorous opposition of business and many economists, Congress voted to boost the minimum wage from its present $2.30 an hour to $3.35 by 1981, an increase of 45%. Unlike in past efforts, the unions pulled out all stops to press for the measure, putting together a potent coalition of blacks,...