By Ashley Portero
South Florida Business Journal, Oct 29, 2020
Jennifer Todd knows what it’s like to barely make ends meet. She spent years earning $12 an hour working as a secretary before launching Pompano Beach-based LMS General Contractors, a construction and demolition company, in 2013. ...
“I want [my employees] to be able to come to work without worrying about how they’re going to get to and from the job, or how they’re going to buy groceries,” she said. “I’ve been on that side and I don’t want them in that position.”
Todd supports Florida’s Amendment 2, a constitutional amendment on the state ballot this year. ...
Scott Fuhrman, the CEO of Allapattah-based juice company Lakewood Organic, argues that paying employees more brings a slew of benefits to a business. He said the company... began receiving job applications from higher-quality talent after it began paying its 91 employees a minimum wage of $15 an hour. Employee productivity also increased and turnover fell, he added – and that was good for the family-owned business' bottom line. ...
The Lakewood Organic brand ... is available at grocery chains like Publix, Whole Foods and Wegmans.
Fuhrman is among a group of South Florida business owner to publicly back Florida Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. Other signatories include Books and Books owner Mitchell Kaplan, and the leaders of a handful of big-name companies like Organic Valley and Dr. Bronner's.
LMS General Contractor's Todd, who also signed, said she believes employees will fully commit themselves to their job if they're earning sustainable wages. ...
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