Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., today applauded the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of legislation to increase the federal minimum wage, the “Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.”

“Hispanics are among the hardest-working Americans. Unfortunately, Hispanic workers are three times as likely as their White counterparts to be working full-time yet still living in poverty,” stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “A minimum wage increase to $7.25 an hour would improve the economic conditions of more than 1.3 million Latino workers and give them a better chance to provide for their families.”

Today there are nearly 21 million Latinos in the workforce. In addition, Hispanics maintain the highest labor force participation rate among their peers, with nearly seven in ten employable Latinos in the labor force. However, many Latino workers are unable to climb the economic ladder because of their low skill and education levels.

“Increasing the minimum wage is a good first step,” continued Murguía. “But we must invest more in workers, including the nation’s Latino workforce. Congress has the opportunity do so by renewing the Workforce Investment Act.”

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is the federal law providing funding for enhancing the skills of the American labor force. NCLR supports WIA proposals that increase access to job training services, focus on improving English literacy and skills of limited-English-proficient adults, and support the work of community-based organizations.

“Now is the time to make smart investments in the nation’s workforce,” concluded Murguía. “We are certain that investing in Latino workers will pay enormous dividends for the nation’s economy as a whole.”

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