DAILY FINANCE: In a break with the rest of the retail industry, Costco has expressed support for President Obama’s proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.
In fact, Costco CEO Craig Jelinek is throwing his support behind the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, a new bill that would eventually raise the federally-mandated minimum wage all the way to $10.10…
“Instead of minimizing wages, we know it’s a lot more profitable in the long term to minimize employee turnover and maximize employee productivity, commitment and loyalty,”[ Costco CEO Craig] Jelinek said. “We support efforts to increase the federal minimum wage.”… (more)
EDITOR: An increase in minimum wage would also be helpful in the hotel industry. It protects well run companies from cost cutting by others who pay less. Those of us who try to pay a living wage face cut throat competition from those who don’t. Incidentally, no one does much “living” on $9 or $10 an hour.
At $9 an hour for a 40 hour week, the annual pay before taxes comes to $18,720. The national poverty rate for a family of four is net earnings under $22,133,
