By Jamie McGee
The Tennessean, June 23, 2016
Sherry Stewart Deutschmann, founder and CEO of Nashville company LetterLogic, has been named a White House Champion of Change for her leadership on fair pay issues and will be honored Thursday.
Deutschmann founded patient billing company LetterLogic in 2002 and has made valuing employees a cornerstone of her company from the start. Workers, many of whom operate machines in the company's Wedgewood-Houston facility, share profits, and wages start at $16 an hour, more than double the federal minimum wage.
“Our entire business model was built on my belief that I could build a better company if I took extraordinary care of the employees," Deutschmann said in a statement.
Deutschmann said that by increasing starting salary, up from $12 an hour, revenues increased by 25 percent in a two-year period and profits quadrupled.
“My business can set a good example, but I can’t do it alone," she said. "Raising the minimum wage will increase productivity, reduce the costly turnover that plagues so many low-wage businesses and boost sales by putting more money in workers’ pockets. Raising the minimum wage is good for business and our economy.”
Copyright 2016 The Tennessean