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The local Power Financial Credit Union is among companies — including Ikea and Walmart — that have raised their minimum wage in recent years.
Earlier this year, Power Financial implemented a $15 minimum wage. It wasn’t a huge financial lift, CEO Allan Prindle acknowledged, since the lowest paid employees did not earn the state’s minimum wage and instead averaged $11 to $12 an hour, but the move went a long way toward boosting morale.
While businesses may fear the costs incurred by the amendment, Prindle thinks the pandemic has made consumers more aware and sympathetic to low-wage workers who have been hardest hit. There’s a renewed sense of togetherness, with more people buying local for instance, that he thinks will make consumers more amenable to modest price increases.
“The advice I would give is to consider your most important asset,” said Prindle. “Replacing people is far more expensive than simply bumping up the minimum wage in a given time frame. Look at it as an investment in your people rather than a cost increase.”"