LANSING (AP) - How times change.
Five months ago, state Republicans said in response to Democratic calls for action on Michigan's minimum hourly wage that there was no need to raise it. But now, with the November election approaching and a newly enacted federal increase, the GOP-controlled Legislature is hurrying through a Democratic bill to lift the rate to $5.15 from $3.35.
The House Human Resources and Labor Committee yesterday approved the bill, 6-0, with Rep. Charles Perricone (R-Kalamazoo) passing on his vote.
The entire House quickly followed, voting 94-12 to pass the increase. The vote was capped by Democrats singing the lines "I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see," from the gospel hymn, "Amazing Grace."
Senate Majority Floor Leader Dan DeGrow (R-Port Huron) said that chamber also would probably pass the measure before lawmakers adjourn in three weeks. Jeff McAlvey, Gov. John Engler's lobbyist, said the governor was likely to sign the bill.
Republicans acknowledged that their newfound interest in raising the minimum wage grew mostly from political concerns, rather than a change of heart about whether an increase would be helpful to workers and the economy.
"We felt it was going to be an issue in the fall," said House Speaker Paul Hillegonds (R-Holland) who voted against the increase. He added that Republicans believe it was important to match the new federal rate.
"It's not something I'm comfortable with," said Perricone, who also voted against the bill. "It's a prime example of election-season politics."
Labor Committee Chairman Walter DeLange (R-Grand Rapids) believes raising the rate is unnecessary because only a maximum of 133,000 Michigan employees work for the state wage, and unwise because many of those workers could lose their jobs.
But DeLange said he bowed to the wishes of other Republicans who began to push for an increase - particularly after President Clinton signed the federal legislation last month. DeLange and Hillegonds are not running for re-election this year.
Tom Shields of Marketing Resource Group Inc., a Lansing-based firm which does consulting for Republicans, said the move was a smart one.
"It will prevent the Democrats from using it as a campaign issue," he said.
Rep. Bob Emerson (D-Flint) the bill's sponsor, said that was fine with him. He believes the increase will benefit workers - especially the 30 percet of minimum wage earners he said are heads of their households and low-skill workers in inner cities.
The Michigan bill exactly mirrors the new federal law - in its amounts, timetable and in the exceptions added by Republicans.
The bill would raise the state rate by $1.80 over 11 months - to $4.75 per hour as of Oct. 1, and to $5.15 by Sept. 1, 1997. It would be the first increase in Michigan since 1981.
Republicans added changes that would partly exclude workers such as waitresses who receive tips, by making their minimum 75 percent of the rate for other workers. That would mean an initial increase to $3.46 from the current $2.52, to an eventual $3.86.
Restaurant owners were likely to be unhappy with that provision, as a 1978 Attorney General opinion required all tipped employees to be paid at the state's higher rate. The federal minimum wage for such workers is just $2.13.
GOP lawmakers also included a "training hourly wage" that holds the hourly rate at $4.25 for employees younger than 20 during their first 90 days on the job.
Even with those changes, the bill was opposed by the National Federal of Independent Business, which noted in a statement that the Michigan minimum wage has remained at $3.35 per hour even though the federal rate has increased on other occasions.
"Small businesses currently exempted under federal law should have the flexibility to determine wage levels," NFIB lobbyist Charlie Owens said.
A Democratic amendment made the state rate match federal law in another way - by lowering the eligible age for minimum wage protection to 14 years old from 18 in Michigan.
The state rates apply only to companies that do not engage in interstate commerce and have gross receipts less than $500,000 a year.