By Oscar Perry Abello
Next City, Feb 26, 2021
While federal policymakers are debating the first federal minimum wage increase in more than a decade, consumer giant Costco with its 180,000 employees announced it will raise its internal minimum wage to $16 an hour. That’s one dollar more than the $15 an hour that workers and labor groups have been demanding for years as a federal minimum wage. ...
One business group, Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, has been growing its members who support a $15 minimum wage. This week the group released a new report making the case for why a $15 minimum would be good for business.
The report quotes several business owners, including Ashraf Hijaz, owner of Beauty & Beyond, based in Montgomery, Alabama, who said: “Lawmakers aren’t doing businesses any favors by keeping the minimum wage at $7.25 and keeping more money out of the hands of our customers.” ...