BFMW In the News

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.

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, saying it will be good for customers and the economy in general and therefore good for business.

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. ...

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. ...

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 recovery." ...

Cheddar News, Dec 30, 2021

Mike Draper, Founder and Owner of Raygun, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he discusses how increases to the minimum wage in several states next year will help his company and explains why he advocates for it nationally.

WATCH VIDEO

By Clyde Hughes
UPI (United Press International), Dec 29, 2021

The minimum wage for many California workers will rise to $15 per hour on Jan. 1, more than twice the federal minimum. ...

Some business owners said that they welcomed the change because it benefited their employees.

"For too long, the restaurant industry has put employees last," said Karter Louis, CEO of Soul Pizza in Oakland, according to Capitol Weekly. "A low-wage model that has proven short-sighted and unsustainable." ...

Read more

By Tyler Arnold
The Center Square, Dec 28, 2021

Virginia’s minimum wage will increase to $11 per hour in less than a week, which is getting some mixed reactions from members of the commonwealth’s business community. ...

One organization called Business for a Fair Minimum Wage is embracing the higher wage. The group’s CEO, Holly Sklar, released a statement in which she said low minimum wages hurt workers who can’t afford basics and hurt businesses that count on people having money to spend. Michael Lastoria, the CEO of &pizza and member of the group, said higher wages show workers they are valued.

By Sarah Gamard
Delaware News Journal / Delaware Online, Dec 28, 2021. Also Yahoo News, Delmarva Now.

Delaware's minimum wage will increase from $9.25 to $10.50 per hour starting in January. In June, lawmakers passed a bill to raise the minimum wage by more than $1 each year until it reaches $15 an hour by 2025. ...

Business owners have had mixed reactions in Delaware. Some support a $15 minimum wage, arguing that it increases consumer spending when the economy needs a post-pandemic boost, on top of improving worker morale and customer service. ...

Kristen Deptula, owner of the Canalside Inn in Rehoboth Beach, pays her employees $15 an hour or more depending on their experience.

Springfield Business Journal (MO), Dec  27, 2021

... Missouri's minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $11.15 from $10.30 per hour on Jan. 1. It's one of 21 states starting the new year with a wage hike, according to a news release from Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a national network of business owners, executives and organizations that favor increases.

"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," said Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, in the release. "Minimum wage raises pay off in increased consumer spending and better employee retention, productivity and customer service."

By Seth Sandronsky
Capitol Weekly, Dec 27, 2021

Minimum-wage workers in the Golden State will get an hourly pay raise in the new year. ...

There is business support for a higher minimum wage. Karter Louis is CEO of Soul Slice Pizza in Oakland. “For too long, the restaurant industry has put employees last,” he said in an email, “a low-wage model that has proven short-sighted and unsustainable.” ...

Louis, who is a member of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, continues. “If restaurant owners want to thrive, they need to start by investing in their employees. At Soul Slice, we know that happy employees make for happy customers. Raising the minimum wage is good economic policy and good business.” ...

Entrepreneurs Herald, Dec 16, 2021

Kristen Deptula and her husband bought the Canalside Inn in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in October 2019, with little clue that the summer season would be primarily a bust owing to Covid-19.

The innkeepers were able to get support from the federal government through the Paycheck Protection Program. Deptula also attributes another move —providing their employees a $15 per hour minimum wage — to the company's ability to weather the pandemic.

That wage is far more than the state's current minimum wage of $9.25 per hour. Deptula, a native of Washington state, had seen the higher rate work in Seattle.

Deptula explained, "It was just something I thought was a decent practice." ...

By Katie V. Jones
Baltimore Sun, Dec. 14, 2021

A week after the County Council passed the legislation, County Executive Calvin Ball put his signature on a bill that will raise the minimum wage in the county to $16 ... The minimum wage increase will be phased in during the next five years. ...

By Russell Huebsch
Houston Chronicle Newsletter, Dec 7, 2021

... People who oppose the minimum wage believe that requiring employers to pay mandated government wages forces employers to raise prices and cut staff. On its face, this doesn’t make sense. If employers can raise prices at any time without pricing themselves out of business, why would they have been selling their products for less than what they could have been charging all this time? And why would employers be hiring staff they didn’t need and could cut in response to a wage increase?

By Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Fast Casual, Nov. 12, 2021

... The obstacles related to staff recruitment retention and technologies that can ease the staffing pains were the focus of a panel talk ... at the recent Fast Casual Executive Summit held in Charlotte North Carolina. ...Panelists included Andy Hooper, president of &pizza, Eric Ersher, founder of Zoup! Eatery and John Pepper, founder of Boloco. ...

A recent Indeed poll showed there are four times more jobs than seekers and when it comes to interview time 80% of candidates are no shows. There's a labor churn of 150% ...