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TLS signed “John Kennedy,” one page, 8 x 10.5, personal United States Senate letterhead, June 15, 1957. Letter to Robert C. Schaye, Vice President and General Manager of Raymond's, Inc., in full: “Thank you for your recent letter calling to my attention the effect which you believe extension of the Fair Labor Standards Act to retail establishments will have. I want to assure you that before acting to introduce S. 1853 I most carefully considered the economics of the industry and I must in candor say that it is my belief that on balance the effects following from the coverage of retail employees would be beneficial not only to the workers themselves but to the economy as a whole. In any event, since the Committee has not yet reported the bill, I want you to know that before final action is taken I shall very carefully review the record of the hearings and consider the legislation in light of the comments you have made in your letter.” In fine condition, with a couple of light bends, and a small stain to the lower right corner.
Before his presidency, Senator John F. Kennedy served on the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, where he played a key role in labor reform legislation and investigated corruption in the labor movement. Kennedy, as this letter illustrates, sought to strengthen the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) with a proposed amendment aimed at increasing worker wages.
In a speech to the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Department Convention on October 31, 1957, Kennedy stated: ‘To establish a firm floor under the purchasing power prosperity of this country requires more than increasing benefits to the retired, the disabled and the unemployed. It requires the payment of decent wages to every man and woman now at work. It is a shocking fact that millions of workers in this country have no federal protection against substandard wages, despite the existence of the Fair Labor Standards Act…Unfortunately, those who are denied this protection are those who need it most – those whose wages are low and whose bargaining power is weak – handicapped workers, children, women, negroes, and immigrants. I have been unable to interest a substantial number of my Republican colleagues in my bill to extend minimum wage coverage to these groups, despite the testimony before our committee of the unbelievably low wages paid to many of the women who work in our retail stores. Apparently the Republican slogan is: ‘Heaven will protect the working girl – so we Republicans will protect her employer.’’
Kennedy successfully combated this injustice when, as president, he signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 on June 10, 1963, as part of his New Frontier Program. The act aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex.
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