Wage and Benefits Discrimination Racism in America

Challenges and Benefits of the proposal
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Challenge 1: Wage and Benefits Discrimination Racism in America
The wage and benefits gap remains in the united states, even after efforts to bridge the gap. According to research by Patten, black people earned 25% less than white people in 2015 for full-time and part-time jobs (1). In 1938, the Fair Labor Standard Act of 1938 ( FSLA) law was established to create a minimum wage in the United States of America ( Reich,2). The law allows individuals to work 40 hours a week and time-and-half overtime. In addition, the law prohibits the employment of children under oppressive child labor. Notably, FSLA improved the working conditions of white people and boosted their wages and benefits, exempting the African-American community who were trapped in poverty and exploiting them for cheap labor. The act exempted agriculture and domestic and service occupations, creating inequality in wages and benefits. Even though the act was amended decades later, many agricultural workers are still denied the benefit of minimum wages and overtime bonuses. Many agricultural workers comprise Latino and Asian-American.
Additionally, the Wagner act of 1935 granted workers collective bargaining rights in which they would form or join a union. Consequently, the union would bargain for higher wages and decent working conditions, which saw individuals transform and transition to the middle class. However, the act excluded domestic and agricultural workers and allowed labor unions to discriminate against minority groups ( National Labor Relations Board,3). The act, together with the national movement, embraced efforts to end labor unions for people of color, and decades later, lawmakers managed to allow workers to have labor unions. However, the Wagner Act discriminates against domestic workers and people of color.
Logical Response
In the United States of America today, the average wage is $ 18.09 per hour, while that of domestic workers and the service industry ranges from 12-13$ per hour ( Wagner,4). The wages and benefits differ from one occupation to another, with the majority receiving low wages being Asian America, Latinos in agriculture, and housekeepers and cleaners. The FLSA and Wagner act introduced the New Deal Legislation that allowed many households in America. Even though the deal was marketed as universal, it encouraged racial disparities, especially among black people occupations, Asian America and Latinx. Further, the majority of black people are trapped in poverty with less wages and benefits than white people and a probability of job insecurity. Thus, to address these challenges, the government should encourage universal income, universal benefits, and wages and allow me...