The Rick Smith Show, March 15, 2022

Interview with John Schall, owner, El Jefe's Taqueria

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By Zahra Tayeb
Business Insider, Feb 19, 2022

The owner of a pizza chain said he's not concerned about the ongoing labor shortage in the US. Michael Lastoria, CEO of &pizza, a restaurant chain in Washington, DC, told Insider that a "shortage of imagination" is the real problem facing the US. ...

According to Lastoria, the pandemic highlighted issues about the restaurant industry, in particular, which have remained unsolved for decades. These problems include low wages, lack of benefits, dangerous working conditions and the cyclical nature of firing and re-hiring staff when convenient for employers, he said. ...

At...

By Christopher Marquis
Forbes, Feb 14, 2022

Steven Dyme found himself in the flower business by accident. During his teen years, just after graduating high school, he and his future co-founder, Joseph Dickstein, started selling flowers at graduations to help pay for college while donating a portion of the profits to help outfit Chicago area students in need with school supplies. In 2012, they co-founded Flowers for Dreams ... with the goal of adding a modern twist to one of the most traditional of gifts: to use beautiful bouquets to advance causes of justice & charity in...

By Melissa Angell
Inc., February 10, 2022

Some businesses aren't just hungry for more federal aid -- they're famished. 

Everyone hoped that 2022 would welcome a sanguine post-pandemic future -- one that teased the promise of a closer return to "normal." But the Omicron variant, supply chain disruptions, and a spiraling inflation rate ... have made that vision seem quaint. Meanwhile, the federal programs that doled out Covid aid during the pandemic are mostly depleted. 

The combination of challenges has encouraged some business owners to appeal to lawmakers for more aid. ...

The time is now, agrees John Pepper, but...

By Rachel Ravina
The Times Herald, Jan 28, 2022. Also in The Reporter, Mainline Times&Suburban

Gov. Tom Wolf visited Montgomery County on Thursday to discuss a topic he’s talked about time and time again: the state’s minimum wage. ... Along with Wolf, several Democratic Pennsylvania lawmakers were present Thursday afternoon at the Willow Grove-based eatery in voicing support to raise the minimum wage. ...

On Thursday, the Montgomery County-based eatery &Pizza served as a backdrop for Wolf’s latest pitch on wages. A spokesperson for the governor’s office told MediaNews Group the company “starts its employees at...

By John Campisi
Patch, Jan 27, 2022

Gov. Tom Wolf made a stop in Montgomery County Thursday to call for a raise in the state's minimum wage, saying that it is disheartening that Pennsylvania hasn't raised its minimum wage in 15 years. Wolf was joined by state and local officials during his stop at [&pizza] ...

Also speaking at the event was Kelly Maguire, the store manager at the & Pizza Willow Grove location.

"Fair pay is absolutely essential to & Pizza's business model," she said. "All of our work counts for nothing if our people...

By Damon C. Williams
Bucks County Courier Times, Jan 27, 2022. Also in Yahoo News, The Intelligencer

Gov. Tom Wolf and Democratic leadership want workers in Pennsylvania to have a bigger slice of the pie. That was Wolf's message, when he, House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton and State Sen. Art Haywood stopped at &Pizza in Willow Grove Park mall on Thursday to once again press the state legislature to raise the minimum wage. ... Wolf said nearly 25 percent of workers in Pennsylvania, or 1.5 million Pennsylvanians, would get a boost in pay at $15 per hour...

By Katie Johnston
Boston Globe, Jan 8, 2022

As Omicron whips through the workforce, caregiving agencies are turning away new patients. Restaurants are shutting down. Construction jobs are being delayed. Retailers, including Macy’s, are limiting hours. ... In Massachusetts, 12,213 public school staff members — nearly 9 percent — tested positive over the two-week period ending Wednesday. ...

“In the last two weeks, it feels like the game has definitely changed,” said Emily Kanter, co-owner of Cambridge Naturals, which started closing its stores in Cambridge and Boston early due to a surge of exposed employees stuck...

NPR Morning Edition, Jan 7, 2022

Dozens of states are raising the minimum wage. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Gina Schafer, owner of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, with 13 Ace Hardware stores in DC, Maryland and Virginia.

LISTEN

By Camille Squires
Quartz, Jan 4, 2022

Minimum-wage workers across the US are getting a pay bump in 2022. Higher minimum wage laws took effect across 21 states and 35 cities in the US on Jan. 1. It’s the largest simultaneous increase of sub-national minimum wage policy in US history, according to the National Employment Law Project. ...

“A lot of business owners haven’t really run the numbers to see just how much they can save with a higher wage floor,” says Alissa Barron-Menza, vice president of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a non-profit organization that advocates for...

By Melissa Angell
Inc, Jan 3, 2022

A coalition of business owners is sweet on the minimum wage increases that kicked off the new year, since they believe the wage hikes can boost economic recovery. 

More than 20 states increased their minimum wage as the year began and an additional four states, plus the nation's capital, will see minimum wage raises later in the year, according to Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. The organization is a network of [many] more than 1,000 employers and business organizations that favors a federal minimum wage increase--thinking that runs counter to conventional economic arguments.

In fact...

By Jim Gaines
Dayton Daily News, Jan 3, 2022. Also Yahoo News, Springfield News Sun, more.

Ohio’s minimum wage jumped 50 cents on Jan. 1, rising to $9.30 an hour. That’s higher than all but one adjacent state. ... Ohio voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2006 to annually increase the minimum wage in line with inflation. ...

Twenty-one states will raised their minimum wage Jan. 1, and another four will do so later this year, according to Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a group of business owners and managers that advocates a $15-per-hour minimum wage...

By Ben Paviour
VPM/NPR, Jan 3, 2022

Business groups say they’re looking forward to what some say will be a warmer reception in Richmond after Republican gains in the November election. Lobbyists for some groups are looking to advance an agenda of tax cuts as well as rolling back some policies championed by Democrats in recent years, including statewide COVID safety regulations and further minimum wage increases. ...

Not all businesses share those priorities against the backdrop of a nationwide labor shortage. One group, Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, represents businesses from Buz and Ned’s Real...

By Jose Espinoza
El Sol Latino, Dec 31, 2021

En New Jersey el comienzo del nuevo año estuvo acompañado con un aumento del salario mínimo que intenta paliar el impacto de la actual tendencia inflacionaria. El incremento de 13 dólares la hora entrará en vigencia el sábado 1 de enero y forma parte de un plan de cinco años firmado por el gobernador Phil Murphy hace dos años para llevar el salario mínimo a 15 dólares en 2024. ...

Reprints Business for a Fair Minimum Wage Dec. 28, 2021 Tweet: "21 states #RaisetheWage to...

By Dominick Reuter and Madison Hoff
Business Insider, Dec 30, 2021. Also MSN Money, more

New Year's Day will bring a raise for minimum wage workers in 21 states and 35 cities and counties. ...

"When the minimum wage is too low it hurts workers who can't afford the basics and it hurts businesses that count on customers with money to spend," Holly Sklar, the CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said in a statement. "As the federal minimum wage remains stuck at an inexcusable $7.25 an hour, state increases are vital for strengthening our...