By Caroline Hogan
KSHB 41 TV, May 14, 2024

Mike Schroeder loves a black cup of coffee in the morning, but he may love his employees more. The owner of Oddly Correct, a coffee shop on Troost Avenue, pays his employees $19 an hour. That's well above the minimum wage in Missouri.

"The people who are here are the ones that are going to make things happen," Schroeder said. "So if they're not feeling stable or invested, the business isn't gonna go anywhere."

Schroeder actively supports the initiative in Missouri to increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2026 and provide paid sick leave. ...

"Creating an environment where our employees know that they're just not a resource to us, that we view them as human beings who have needs beyond doing their job," Schroeder said.

Since this decision, Schroeder has witnessed positive outcomes for his shop.

"We weren't having to spend as much time and energy finding new employees, we weren't having to spend as much time training people," he said. "There’s plenty of great coffee in Kansas City, right? But we had new customers coming to us because they want to support a business that cares about the people that work there." ...

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