Washington Post, April 7, 2014
Excerpt: Pay: Hardware store owner backs increase
By Jonathan O’Connell, Capital Business
Gina Schaefer’s Ace Hardware store on P Street NW contributed to the resurgence of Logan Circle, and she now owns nine stores in D.C. and Maryland. When developers ask residents what retailers they’d like to see in their own neighborhoods, Schaefer’s name is frequently among those mentioned. Schaefer says one key to her success has been paying her employees more than competitors, and last week she joined officials on Capitol Hill to support a federal minimum wage increase.
“When employees earn a decent starting wage, they can concentrate on their job and our customers without continual stress over how they are going to afford basics like rent, groceries or transportation,” she said in a press release afterward. “Our employees shop at other businesses, and the employees of other businesses shop at our stores. It’s a win-win for workers and businesses.”
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