Minimum wage: how much is too much?
Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:30 am
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https://lancasteronline.com/business/lo ... b7dcd.html
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Small businesses continue to struggle with the impact of the pandemic, particularly when it comes to finding the workers they need to get back to normal.
Local business owners were on hand Wednesday at the Lancaster Chamber for a state Senate hearing on the economic impact of the workforce shortage.
Most of the testimony was about having the government less involved in the marketplace, particularly when it comes to the $300 weekly federal bonus some of the business owners said is making it harder to recruit and gives would-be workers inflated expectations about pay.
Members of the Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee also heard ideas for how state government could do more, including subsidizing job training for new hires, using leftover federal grant money to replenish a state fund for hotels and restaurants, and making it easier for restaurants to offer health insurance and use that a recruiting tool.
“We’re struggling to figure out how we pay fair wages when the perception of wages has changed so drastically,” said Diesha Cooper, an owner of D. Cooper Works, a metal fabrication shop in Ephrata.
Cooper said a $15-an-hour entry-level wage is no longer seen as generous even though it’s essentially paid during an employee’s training period when their work doesn’t earn money for the firm. Since she would be strapped to boost wages even more, she suggested funneling money from unemployment payments to a training subsidy for new hires.
Mark Sauder, president of Sauder’s Eggs, said the state should offer more support to trade schools that train the kinds of employees the Lititz firm needs, especially since it costs a lot to pay employees while they learn on the job.
“I don’t need any direct money from the government,” Sauder said. “Let’s give people the opportunity to grow their skills and earn higher wages.”
Testifying about the challenges facing the restaurant industry, James Longstreet, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, said many restaurateurs went into debt to stay afloat during the pandemic, suggesting unspent federal funds be used replenish Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program, which awarded $145 million in grants to hotels and restaurants.
Longstreet also said restaurants might have better luck hiring workers if they could obtain health benefits for employees through association health plans, which could offer better rates and manage plans for restaurants. Legislation allowing such joint buying programs is currently pending.
Yet even as some fixes were proposed to aid recruiting and employee training, restaurant owner Mick Owens described a situation in which even generous incentives don’t seem to be enough.
Owens, who owns three Mick’s All American Pubs and one Maize Mexican Cantina in Lancaster County, said he hasn’t been able to hire even one cook so far for a planned new Mick’s in Lebanon, even though he’s offering $18 an hour, double what he paid before the pandemic.
“We’ve had times when it’s tough to find employees, but never like this,” he said.
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How much is too much for a starting wage? Would like to see some discussion on this. I know we have a handful of employers here on MN.
https://lancasteronline.com/business/lo ... b7dcd.html
*****************************************************************************
Small businesses continue to struggle with the impact of the pandemic, particularly when it comes to finding the workers they need to get back to normal.
Local business owners were on hand Wednesday at the Lancaster Chamber for a state Senate hearing on the economic impact of the workforce shortage.
Most of the testimony was about having the government less involved in the marketplace, particularly when it comes to the $300 weekly federal bonus some of the business owners said is making it harder to recruit and gives would-be workers inflated expectations about pay.
Members of the Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee also heard ideas for how state government could do more, including subsidizing job training for new hires, using leftover federal grant money to replenish a state fund for hotels and restaurants, and making it easier for restaurants to offer health insurance and use that a recruiting tool.
“We’re struggling to figure out how we pay fair wages when the perception of wages has changed so drastically,” said Diesha Cooper, an owner of D. Cooper Works, a metal fabrication shop in Ephrata.
Cooper said a $15-an-hour entry-level wage is no longer seen as generous even though it’s essentially paid during an employee’s training period when their work doesn’t earn money for the firm. Since she would be strapped to boost wages even more, she suggested funneling money from unemployment payments to a training subsidy for new hires.
Mark Sauder, president of Sauder’s Eggs, said the state should offer more support to trade schools that train the kinds of employees the Lititz firm needs, especially since it costs a lot to pay employees while they learn on the job.
“I don’t need any direct money from the government,” Sauder said. “Let’s give people the opportunity to grow their skills and earn higher wages.”
Testifying about the challenges facing the restaurant industry, James Longstreet, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, said many restaurateurs went into debt to stay afloat during the pandemic, suggesting unspent federal funds be used replenish Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program, which awarded $145 million in grants to hotels and restaurants.
Longstreet also said restaurants might have better luck hiring workers if they could obtain health benefits for employees through association health plans, which could offer better rates and manage plans for restaurants. Legislation allowing such joint buying programs is currently pending.
Yet even as some fixes were proposed to aid recruiting and employee training, restaurant owner Mick Owens described a situation in which even generous incentives don’t seem to be enough.
Owens, who owns three Mick’s All American Pubs and one Maize Mexican Cantina in Lancaster County, said he hasn’t been able to hire even one cook so far for a planned new Mick’s in Lebanon, even though he’s offering $18 an hour, double what he paid before the pandemic.
“We’ve had times when it’s tough to find employees, but never like this,” he said.
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How much is too much for a starting wage? Would like to see some discussion on this. I know we have a handful of employers here on MN.
Reminds me of how I've seen whole cultures wrecked when government giveaway programs pump money into minority tribal cultures. They end up creating societies whose members have no incentive to work or earn anything on their own efforts. 