In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama joined a growing chorus of voices demanding that the national minimum wage be raised.  Tuesday, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representative George Miller (D-Calif.) announced they will introduce the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Obama proposed raising the minimum wage to $9 per hour and indexing the wage to increases in the cost of living.

After widespread reports of long lines and problems with voting on Election Day, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) announced that he will introduce legislation that will help address at least part of the problem. 

When wages rise, workers and communities benefit. So imagine how improved our national economy would be if the wages of nearly 30 million workers got a boost?

If Congress acted to raise the federal minimum wage to $9.80 by July 1, 2014, some 28 million workers would see a pay increase, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI) latest report on the minimum wage. Further, those workers would receive nearly $40 billion in additional wages over the phase-in period.

During an across the phase-in period of the minimum-wage increase, the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) would increase by roughly $25 billion, resulting in the creation of approximately 100,000 net new jobs, according to EPI.

A group of prominent economists today urged President Obama and congressional leaders to raise the federal minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 an hour for three years. In a letter to the president and lawmakers they wrote: 

A higher minimum wage at this juncture will not only provide raises for low-wage workers but would provide some help on the jobs front as well.

House Republicans have blocked efforts to maintain strong workplace health safety rules for workers at the nation’s nuclear weapons facilities. Republicans leaders rejected even a vote on an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that would have preserved the current standards.They are pushing an extreme proposal to deregulate worker safety and allow employer self–regulation and self-oversight.

If deadly mine disasters like 2010’s Upper Big Branch (W.Va.) that killed 29 coal miners are to be prevented, miners must have stronger protections to report safety violations, mine safety law must be stronger and mine operators must face tougher penalties for violating safety and health laws, witnesses told a House hearing yesterday. 

The findings by the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB's) inspector general that NLRB member Terence Flynn funneled confidential information to people engaged in attacking the NLRB, including a key adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, “should not go without further scrutiny,” says Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

Genwal Resources, the Murray Energy company that operated the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah where six miners were killed in a 2007 wall collapse and three rescuers died in a second implosion, is pleading guilty to violating mine safety laws and will pay a $500,000 fine.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA's) enforcement effort and practices at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch (W.Va.) mine had a number of significant failures before the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners, according to MSHA’s own report on its actions released today.