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[quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]There are so many things wrong with this bill I don't know where to start...  I too am for decent minimum wages but with this bill only applying to big box stores it will REALLY hurt the low-skilled worker calls as well as small businesses that rely on mid-skilled workers. For example, if I were a small biz owner paying a mid-skilled worker 10.50 an hour and he could turn around and push carts at Walmart for 11.75 where do you think he will go? Then where does that leave the low-skilled workers?

Also, what about the stores that have some outlets that apply and others that do not... if I was at a Safeway under 70K making 8.25 as a cashier and the cashier up the street is doing the exact same job for 11.75 in a larger store is that fair?

Or what about the MD and VA workers? I would take a metro ride in for $2-3 more an hour which is what will happen leaving the DC unemployment rate exactly where it is today -- over 9-10%

One more point, this will kill ANY future big store development... places like Lord & Taylor, Bloomies, Macy's,Target, Lowes, Home Depot etc looking to bring more retail outlets will pull out fast. So what good is that, no new jobs and the lack of much needed retail will remain.

Bottom line, wage reform needs to be more comprehensive... [/quote]

You make a number of good points. You say that you are for decent minimum wages. Would you mind stating what you would consider to be an appropriate minimum wage?

I appreciate your concern for small business owners. However, if the medium-skilled workers leave their $10.50 an hour jobs to go to WalMart for $11.75, their $10.50 per hour jobs will be filled by the currently unemployed. I don't see this as a bad thing. Where is leaves the low-wage earners is in medium-wage jobs (after appropriate training where necessary). That seems like a win-win.

I looked into the bill and the language says that the living wage requirements can be waived if the employer enters into a collective bargaining agreement with the employees. Giant, Safeway, and Costco already have collective bargaining agreements. So, your argument that there will be wage differences between branches of the came store don't really apply.

It's pretty clear that the primary target of this bill is WalMart. With it's planned opening of six stores in the District, it will have a tremendous impact on the business environment. It it sets the standard of low wages, no benefits, and no collective bargaining, it will result in downward pressure on wages as other retailers need to cut costs to compete.

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