Two methods typically are used to a

Two methods typically are used to adjust the wage curve. The first method is to provide an across-the-board increase of so many cents per hour for every job. An across-the-board increase amounts to a fixed-rate-increase and is illustrated in Exhibit 16 by line B. This curve shows a fixed increase of 50 cents per hour for every job. Many organizations have a fixed rate increase tied to the consumer price index(cPi), which measures the rate of inflation in the economy. Labor agreements that contain a cost-of-living adjustment(CoLa) typically provide a fixed-rate increase triggered by changes in the CPI. One major labor agreement, for example, provides for a one-cent-per-hour increase in every job for every 1 increase in the consumer price index.The second method of adjusting the wage curve is to use a percentage increase whereby the rate for each job is increased by a specified percent. Line a in Exhibit 16 illustrates a percentage increase in the wage curve. Higher-paid jobs receive a larger cents-per-hour increase than lower-paid jobs. Ten percent of ten dollars is only a one-dollar-per-hour Increase, whereas ten percent of twenty dollars amounts to a two-dollar-per-hour increase