By Jeremy Allen
Mlive, April 2, 2014
When President Barack Obama spoke on the University of Michigan's campus on Wednesday, April 2, he was the charismatic, crowd-pleasing politician that got him twice elected to lead the country. ... But it was his message – the need to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 for millions of working poor – that resonated most with the 1,400 people packed inside of Michigan’s Intramural Sports Building. ...
Obama pointed out national employers such as Costco and the Gap, as both companies have base pay rates that far exceed the federal minimum wage.
He also called out local businesses like Zingerman’s and its co-owner Paul Saginaw, as well as elected officials such as State Representatives Adam Zemke and Jeff Irwin, as examples of local leaders who are already on board with paying employees higher wages.
Obama made a brief stop at Zingerman’s for lunch – ordering the restaurtant’s classic Reuben sandwich – before making his way over to campus. He said that while Zingerman’s – with its 625 workers – doesn’t employ the amount of people that the Gap and Costco does, but that Saginaw “tries to do right by each and every one of them.”
Saginaw, one of the biggest proponents for an increased minimum wage, traveled to Washington D.C. with business owners from Colorado, New York, Maryland and Washington, D.C. and talked with U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez about the benefits of raising the minimum wage. ...
Copyright 2014 MLive Media Group