Labor groups are pushing for a new standard minimum wage per hour across the U.S., which is nearly double the current $7.25 an hour.
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It’s curious that Travis would argue that paying low-income people money – and in this case, $15 per hour isn’t a whole lot of money in an expensive state like New York, it amounts to around $30,000 per year, which is fairly modest – would have cataclysmic impacts on his company and others.
However, not everyone is cheering about it, in fact, Dunkin Donuts CEO Nigel Travis has called the increase “absolutely outrageous”. “The increase is 71 percent, that’s proposed”.
Travis said, raising the minimum wage to that level would hurt local franchises and keep them from hiring new staff. “Obviously, we’re going to do everything we can to mitigate (the wage increase)”, the CEO said. He cited “reasonable” price increases, refining product preparation and paring down Dunkin’ Donuts’ menu as possible ways to offset wage increases.
Of course, one of the things that supporters of the higher wage said was that they wanted to help lift minimum wage workers out of poverty and welfare.
“We think that these major corporations can pay more and they still would be making significant profits, but maybe not quite as enormous as they now are”, Finfer said.
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Other stores, restaurants, and small businesses are simply closing down because they can’t afford the wage hike. “This is going to affect franchises”.
