What do minimum wage hikes mean for businesses and customers?

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What do minimum wage hikes mean for businesses and customers?

Transcript¹

Dozens of states are raising the minimum wage. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Gina Schafer, CEO of Ace² Hardware, who decided³ to implement⁴ the pay bump across the board in all her stores.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The new year brought a little more money for a lot of workers here in the U.S. Minimum wage increases kicked in on January 1 in 21 states. Gina Schaefer is the CEO of a chain of Ace Hardware Stores located in the greater Washington, D.C., metro⁵ area. Workers inside the district have been getting more than $15 per hour since last July, with another bump expected later this year, but neighboring Maryland and Virginia don't plan to reach 15 bucks⁶ until 2025. Schaefer decided to implement the pay bump across the board in all her stores. Our co-host Rachel Martin talked with Schaefer about how this extra cost affects businesses.

GINA SCHAEFER: One of the things that's really hard for business owners of any size is to plan for the future. So when Washington, D.C., for example, decided that we were going to phase in the $15 minimum, we had several years to do that. So each year in my budgeting process, I could take a look at what we had to do in order to be more profitable, a better place to work and for all of this to make sense. And so you know four years from now, what you're going to have to pay at a minimum - doesn't mean we should just pay the minimum, but it gives us a chance to look at all of the other things that we have to do.

And so that may be getting better cost of goods, which means looking at different vendors⁸. It may mean shopping out service providers that we've used for a decade, our health care providers, our, you know, workers' comp insurance. All of those programs that I think I as a business owner know that I can get complacent⁹ with - oh, I love that service provider. They've always been good to us. That doesn't mean it's the least expensive. And so raising the wage is just one of those components¹⁰ of running the business. And if we can look at it a couple years in advance, you know what you're going to pay.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Does the consumer inevitably¹¹ have to have some of this extra cost passed on to them?

SCHAEFER: This is one of the biggest complaints when it comes to raising the wage. Oh, prices are going to go up. So I thought of a couple examples. My rent at all of my locations goes up at least 3% every year. That means technically¹², I could raise my prices 2 to 3%. I don't, but I could. My health insurance coverage¹³ for our teammates - and we we pay 80 to 90% of our teammates' health insurance - goes up between 7 and 17% every year, which means I could raise my prices between 7 and 17%. But nobody walks into my door and says, Hey, I bet your health insurance has gone up this year. Are you going to charge me more? But the second you start talking about raising the wages of the people who are actually providing the service, prices for the consumer is is immediately questioned.

MARTIN: But have you had to raise prices?

SCHAEFER: So we have raised our prices probably every year we've been in business because our cost of goods go up from our vendor⁷. We have not specifically raised our prices because the wages have gone up.

MARTIN: The cost of living is going up everywhere. Do you think the updated minimum wage, even just to $15 an hour - do you think that's enough?

SCHAEFER: No, I don't. And, you know, I always hesitate to say that because on one hand, I want my team to be proud of the fact that they are part of an organization that wants to pay higher wages. And we do a whole lot of other benefit kinds of things to, you know, bring the entire compensation package up. But when it comes to straight dollars, I don't think 15 is enough. But the reality of retail¹⁴ and the race to the bottom line for cheapest prices and fewer employees - all of those things impact how those of us who want to pay more can pay more.

MARTIN: Is your retention¹⁵ better as a result of the higher wages?

SCHAEFER: Yeah, I think our retention is a lot better. I mean, this last year posed some challenges. We sold 20% of our business to our employees in July as part of an exit strategy that my husband and I have formulated¹⁶. And so I now call 160 of my teammates co-owners, and I think that's going to help us make a difference.

MARTIN: Gina Schaefer - she's the CEO of a chain of Ace Hardware stores. Thank you so much for taking the time.

SCHAEFER: Thanks, Rachel.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

5 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

6 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

8 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

10 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

11 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

12 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

13 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

14 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

15 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

16 formulated   

v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• He claims that the writer never consciously formulated his own theoretical position. 他声称该作家从未有意识地阐明他自己的理论见解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This idea can be formulated in two different ways. 这个意思可以有两种说法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》