By Kathryn Palmer
KBIA (NPR), Oct 31, 2018
On Nov. 6, Missourians will have a chance to decide if they want to raise the state minimum wage. Proposition B would increase the current $7.85 an hour minimum to $8.60 by next year. It would increase the state minimum wage 85 cents each year until it reaches $12 hour by the year 2023. So how might this affect Missouri’s low-wage workers and business owners?
Dave Elman, the owner of Fretboard Coffee in downtown Columbia thinks it would help.
Elman took a financial risk to open Fretboard, but he says his business model has and always will include investing in his employees. For Elman, paying higher wages means less turnover and better results.
“I’m very particular, we have a certain way of doing things. I need and want people who want to be there and are excited to be there and bring a certain energy,” Elman says. ...
That’s why Elman has joined over 600 Missouri business owners and executives in publicly endorsing Missouri’s Proposition B. ...
Back at Fretboard Coffee, Elman looks out over the garage and patio he transformed into a growing small business.
“These people who I see all around town from other service jobs, the more money people have in their pocket the more they’re going to seek out local businesses,” Elman says. “So, I feel like the better people are paid, the more supportive they’re going to be of their local economy and local community.”
On Nov. 6, it’s up to voters to decide if they agree with Elman by voting either yes or no on Proposition B. But if it passes, Elman says he expects to see even more coffee drinkers at his shop.
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