By Micaela Hood
Lehigh Valley News, September 13, 2023

... El Jefe's Taqueria of Bethlehem will receive a Milestone Award at the Greater Lehigh Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Sept. 15. ...

Another prominent business owner, John Schall, of El Jefe's Taqueria, will accept the Milestone Award at the gala.

"One thing that interested us was that 20% of El Jefe's Taqueria [stakeholders] are Latino," Suero [AJ Suero, chair of the Greater Lehigh Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce] said. "We were also impressed with their out-of-the-box thinking during COVID and willingness to stay...

By Hannah Brandt
Nexstar, Aug 8, 2023. Ran on Nexstar stations across the country 8/8 - 8/10 including WFLA (Tampa, FL), WJTV (Jackson, MS), WKRG (Mobile, AL), WFXP & WJET (Erie, PA), KSNW (Wichita, KS), WYTV (Youngstown, OH), KSNF (Joplin, MO), WHBF (Davenport, IA), WCMH (Columbus, OH), KFTA (Fort Smith, AR), KWKT (Waco, TX), WFXB & WBTW (Myrtle Beach, SC), WJBF (Augusta, GA), WFXR (Roanoke, VA), KTAL (Shreveport, LA), and many more.

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — For more than a decade, the federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25. With costs of living rising, some lawmakers are renewing a push to raise...

By Benjamin S. Weiss
Courthouse News Service, July 25, 2023

WASHINGTON (CN) — More than a decade after Congress last raised the federal minimum wage, lawmakers on Tuesday rolled out legislation that, if made law, would significantly increase the legal baseline for pay across the country. Federal minimum wage currently sits at just $7.25 an hour ...

Aaron Seyedian, owner of Well-Paid Maids, a cleaning company that pays its employees a minimum of $23 an hour, said that increased wages were an investment in his staff that has led to higher productivity and lower employee...

By Jessica Corbett
Common Dreams, July 25, 2023

Economic justice advocates applauded Tuesday as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Congressman Bobby Scott formally introduced the Raise the Wage Act of 2023, which would increase the federal hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $17 by 2028. ...

At a Tuesday press conference to promote the bill, Scott was joined by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Labor Caucus Co-Chair Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), Well-Paid Maids owner Aaron Seyedian, and Frances Holmes, who makes $13 an hour working a seasonal job at a baseball stadium St...

By Isabel Engel
CNBC, July 1, 2023

Minimum wage increases are set to take effect July 1 in Nevada, Oregon, Washington, D.C. and various other cities and counties across the U.S. And for some local business owners, the hikes are a welcome — and much awaited — change.

An increase in minimum wage — and, thus, baseline salaries within local communities — allows businesses to flourish, Gina Schaefer, founder and co-owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, tells CNBC Make It. Schaefer owns 13 Ace Hardware stores throughout the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia metropolitan area. 

“We will hopefully...

Associated Press (AP), July 1, 2023

Nevada’s lowest wage workers will see larger paychecks now that the state’s minimum wage increased Saturday. ...

Paul Saginaw, owner of Saginaw’s Delicatessen in Circa Resort, said he’s found that when wages went up, labor costs were kept in check or lowered because they had less turnover, resulting in more experienced staff with better productivity.

“(The) biggest struggle is the cost of goods, not wages,” he said.

Read more

By Bryan P. Sears
Maryland Matters, June 29, 2023. Also WTOP News.

Starting Saturday, most business owners around the state will have six months to prepare for a coming jump in the state’s minimum wage.

The Fair Wage Act of 2023, passed earlier this year, was a priority for Gov. Wes Moore (D) in his first year in office. The change accelerates [to Jan. 2024] the move to $15 per hour  as phased in under a 2019 law.

Aaron Seyedian, owner of Well-Paid Maids, said business owners should embrace the coming change because of its overall benefits....

By Michael Lyle
Nevada Current, June 27, 2023. Also in Reno Gazette Journal, Nevada Globe.

Some Nevadans will get a slight raise July 1 as the state sees its minimum wage increase from $10.50 to $11.25 an adjustment still well below the amount needed to afford average prices of rent and child care. ...

Nevada’s increase is smaller than changes in other states, according to Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. ...

The final scheduled minimum wage increase – to $12 – goes into effect on July 1, 2024. At that time, Nevada will also eliminate its...

By Samuel O'Neal
Pennsylvania Capital-Star, June 25, 2023

In 2019, when the Republican-controlled state Senate voted to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $9.50 an hour, John Schall, owner of El Jefe’s Taqueria, was one of the loudest vocal supporters of the potential wage hike.

“I think this is an important issue for businesses as well as for workers,” said Schall, who has Pennsylvania locations in Pittsburgh, State College and Bethlehem. “The Pennsylvania economy would be way better off if the legislation gets passed.”

Ultimately, a compromise bill negotiated by Republicans and former Democratic...

By McKenna Ross
Las Vegas Review Journal, June 25, 2023

Nevada’s lowest-paid workers will soon see a larger paycheck when the state’s minimum wage reaches about $11.25 an hour ... The law includes a two-tier system that offers a lower wage to employees with qualifying health benefits. This year, those workers will receive a minimum hourly wage of $10.25. It’s also the last year of such a two-tiered system after roughly 55 percent of voters in November 2022 approved a constitutional amendment setting a $12 minimum wage. That will go into effect July 1, 2024. ...

Paul...

By Andy Medici
The Business Journals, June 23, 2023

Minimum wages are set to increase July 1 as debate rages on. ... On July 1, Nevada, Oregon and Washington D.C. will raise their minimum wages alongside Chicago, San Francisco and Montgomery County, Maryland, among others. ...

Some small-business owners are welcoming the wage increases.

Jared Meyers, owner of Legacy Vacation Resorts in Reno, Nevada, and elsewhere, said the coming increase in the minimum wage will help boost hiring and retention.

“And when employees are paid fairly and aren’t distracted by a second job or continual...

By Stacy Wescoe
Lehigh Valley Business, June 21, 2023. Also in Central Penn Business Journal.

The State of Pennsylvania is moving towards a higher minimum wage. The House of Representatives has voted to raise the minimum wage in a proposal that would gradually increase the minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour by 2026. ...There would be annual cost-of-living increases beginning in 2027.

The plan has also received support from some business owners in the state, including John Schall, owner of El Jefe’s Taqueria in Bethlehem.   

“Raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is...

By Maggie Mancini
Philly Voice, June 21, 2023

Pennsylvania's minimum wage, which has remained stagnant for 14 years, could be increased to $15 by 2026 under a bill passed by the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday night. ...

"Paying employees a fair wage is good business," said Amy Edelman, owner of Night Kitchen Bakery in Chestnut Hill. "Employees who aren't continually stressed about making ends meet can focus on taking care of our customers and producing delicious baked goods, which translates into the returning customers that drive small business success. Raising Pennsylvania's minimum wage will boost spending at local...

By Taylor Tosheff
ABC27 WHTM, Harrisburg, PA, June 21, 2023

The Pennsylvania House passed a bill Tuesday to eventually raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. Employers who rely on tips would also see an increase. ...

“I feel like as employers, it’s our responsibility to pay a living wage and take care of our employees the best way we know how to,” said Jennie Groff, co-owner of Lancaster Sweet Shoppe and Stroopies Inc.

Groff employs refugee women living in Lancaster. Employees start at $13 an hour and move up to $14 after...

By Victor Ocasio
Newsday, May 4, 2023

... But while many in the business community predict headwinds, other groups said the increases aren't enough.

New York Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a coalition of around 300 businesses and organizations, had been pushing for a more ambitious increase — to $21.25 by 2026, with cost of living adjustments thereafter.

“I think it should have been increased right away,” said Phil Andrews, president of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce and a member of the coalition. “This has been the highest inflationary time we have probably...