By Ben Werschkul
Yahoo News, Jan 3, 2023
With the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour, unchanged for 13 years and counting, states across the country continue to take matters into their own hands. The latest to join the party is Nebraska, where voters passed an initiative in November’s elections to gradually raise the minimum wage there to $15 per hour by 2026. ...
The bumps are the fruit of years-long efforts from activists and one of the groups, called Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, argues that the increases also make business sense by boosting consumer spending and improving employee morale.
“These employees are, by me, considered an asset and an investment in our business,” said Dave Titterington, the owner of bird supply stores in Nebraska and a member of the coalition. The group noted that more than 300 Nebraska businesses joined their effort this year.
Titterington added during a Yahoo Finance Live interview on Tuesday that he has always paid above the minimum wage at his business and “our retention rate is extremely high,” which he said more than offsets the increased payroll costs.
Four more states and the District of Columbia have increases scheduled for later in 2023, according to the Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. ...
Happier employees, [Titterington] said, “are one of our best forms of advertising.”