Contact: Bob Keener, 617-610-6766, bob@businessforafairminimumwage.org

Business Owners and Organization Leaders Attend Signing Ceremony

ANNAPOLIS, May 5, 2014 – Business owners across Maryland applaud the state minimum wage increase to $10.10, which was signed into law by Governor Martin O’Malley today. More than 180 business organizations and owners signed the Maryland Business for a Fair Minimum Wage statement calling for a $10.10 minimum wage, including Costco, Atwater’s Bakery (Baltimore, Catonsville, Towson), A Few Cool Hardware Stores group (including Canton Ace Hardware, Federal Hill Ace Hardware, Old Takoma Ace Hardware, Waverly Ace Hardware), Union Craft Brewing (Baltimore), Mom’s Organic Market (Rockville, College Park, Jessup, Frederick, Bowie, Timonium, Waldorf), British American Auto Care (Columbia), Linemark Printing (Upper Marlboro), American Income Life Insurance, Community Forklift (Edmonston), Aquas Inc (Bethesda), A Cook’s Café (Annapolis) and many more around the state.

Scott Nash, owner of Moms Organics Market, which has 700 employees and stores in Rockville, College Park, Jessup, Frederick, Bowie, Timonium, Waldorf, said, “I support increasing the minimum wage because we know that people with less financial stress are happier and work more productively.”

Gina Schaefer, owner of nine Ace Hardware stores in Maryland and Washington DC, said, “Fair wages help us attract and retain good employees, increase sales, expand our business and hire more employees. A higher minimum wage will mean more money circulating in our local economy, boosting consumer demand and our local tax base.”

Carmen Ortiz Larsen, owner of Aquas Inc. in Bethesda and Vice President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County, said, “We hired entry-level people at near minimum wage in the past, and learned this resulted in their personal financial problems impacting the quality of their work and their ability to stay the course. With a $10 minimum, my staff is more reliable, I save money with good retention rates and my customers are happier. My company is better because of this change, and Maryland will be better with a higher minimum wage.”

Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Deputy Director Alissa Barron-Menza, who attended the bill signing, said, “It’s great to see our state recognizing that increasing the minimum wage makes good business sense. As we said in our statement supporting the raise, workers are also customers. Minimum wage increases boost sales at local businesses as workers buy needed goods and services they could not afford before. And nothing drives job creation more than consumer demand. Increasing the minimum wage will also reduce the strain on our social safety net caused by inadequate wages.”

Amanda Rothschild, co-owner of Charmington’s cafe in Baltimore City, who also attended the signing, said, “With better wages, our business is thriving, seeing about 25 percent revenue growth each year. The more responsibly I invest in my employees, the greater return I get from them. A minimum wage increase will help business and our economy.”

Stephen Shaff, founding executive director of the Chesapeake Sustainable Business, also attended the signing ceremony. He said, “We applaud the increase to a $10.10 minimum wage, giving Maryland a much needed raise. The bill would have been even stronger with the faster timetable originally proposed, and a provision for future increases to keep up with the rising cost of living so that the minimum wage will not again lose value over time, undermining consumer demand. We look forward to working for that in the future.”

EDITORS NOTE: These and other Maryland business people supporting a minimum wage increase are available for comment and/or television and radio booking. Please contact Bob Keener, 617-610-6766, bob@businessforafairminimumwage.org

Maryland Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Statement: http://www.businessforafairminimumwage.org/Maryland-Minimum-Wage-Statement

Signers: http://www.businessforafairminimumwage.org/Maryland/Signatories-Current

Business for a Fair Minimum Wage is a network of business owners and executives who believe a fair minimum wage makes good business sense. Business owners and leaders of business organizations from across Maryland signed the Maryland Business For a Fair Minimum Wage Statement. www.businessforafairminimumwage.org.

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