LETTER: Put your money where your mouth is
To the editor:
I have been hearing more and more discussion about a minimum wage hike on a national level. I feel I need to speak up about this in a way that is relevant locally. I have worked for Smith’s Food and Drug for several years while going to school. I am a produce clerk, and I am a nobody in the company. Smith’s pays their employees very well. Starting pay in my department is $8.50 and it tops out at about $15 an hour after several years of work with regular raises. $15 an hour for a produce clerk after years of work is significantly more than every other grocery store, and more than double minimum wage.
I am tired of seeing people complain about poor working conditions and poor pay, and then buy their groceries at Wal-Mart. If you are making noise about minimum wage but don’t buy your groceries at Smith’s, shut up about it. You want the government to force businesses to do something you aren’t willing to do yourself, namely, pay a little bit more. I will be the first to say that Smith’s cannot beat Wal-Mart in price, but in customer service and quality and caring for employees, it is no contest. So if this is an issue you care about, vote with your feet and with your dollars.
Shop at businesses that support your ideals.
– Andrew Munguia