"It is about time we got our nation's lowest wage earners out of the 1950s and into the 21st Century. Not even in the most perfect world could we ever expect Americans to eke out a living for not only themselves but their families on minimum wage in this day and age," Morial said. "Our leaders' inaction over the past decade has just thrown more and more working poor deeper into the trenches of poverty. Their hard work must be acknowledged and rewarded."

Morial described an increase as long overdue and a small but necessary step toward closing the economic gap that exists between whites and minorities in the United States.

The current federal wage of $5.15 an hour has been in place since 1997. When adjusted for inflation, it is at its lowest level since 1955, according to a report released today by the NUL Policy Institute.

The study, entitled Raising the Minimum Wage, concludes that Americans currently working 40 hours a week at minimum wage can expect to see their earnings rise to $15,070 a year, nearly $5,500 above the poverty line for individuals and a 40-percent increase over current levels. An estimated 6.6 million minimum-wage workers stand to benefit directly from a hike. Overall, 11 percent of the workforce - or 15 million employees - are likely to be affected directly and indirectly. The increase would also improve the lives of 7.3 million children whose parents are working poor.

The National Urban League is one of several voices advocating for a higher wage. The U.S. House's incoming leadership has already vowed to pass a hike in the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress. In 2006, the chamber passed a plan providing for an increase but wrapped it in a partial repeal of the estate tax, which caused the measure to stall in the U.S. Senate.

More than half of states already require employers to pay workers at an hourly wage above the federal minimum level, including at least four - Florida, Washington, Oregon and Vermont -- that index it for inflation. Last November, voters in six states approved increases. And, according to a recent Associated Press-AOL News poll, 80 percent of Americans surveyed support a raise.

But the Urban League wants to go one step further - demanding that federal lawmakers index the wage to cost-of-living increases, the same ones that they themselves are entitled to.

"Our nation's working poor don't deserve to be at the mercy of the whims of the U.S. Congress in times of economic uncertainty. By indexing the wage for inflation, we'll assure that the lowest wage earners get cost-of-living increases built into their wages so they never have to beg politicians to protect their incomes during the economy's inevitable ups and downs," Morial said.

If the federal government had indexed the wage for inflation over the past 10 years, the wage would have increased to $6.48 an hour - which translates into $1.33 an hour more over 10 years, according to the NUL report.

"A decade is more than enough time for our nation's leaders to right this unjustifiable inequity. For a mere $1.33 an hour more over 10 years, our federal lawmakers could have prevented millions of workers already in precarious economic positions from losing ground," Morial said. "Our leaders are entitled to cost-of-living increases. Why should it be any different for our nation's working poor?"

Click here for a copy of the report. For more information call Ricky Clemons at 212-558-5371.