By Karen Craigo
Springfield Business Journal, May 10, 2024
Voters may be asked to approve increases to the state’s minimum wage and mandatory sick leave provisions on an upcoming ballot. ...
Business support
Andy Faucett, owner of Bambino’s Cafe LLC, representing Missouri Business for a Healthy Economy, said he is in support of the minimum wage hike and sick leave provision. ...
“We don’t start employees at minimum wage at Bambino’s, and we haven’t for a long time,” he said.
Before the 2018 ballot measure, Faucett said it was already clear Bambino’s would have to get to a $15-per-hour starting wage.
“We did that,” he said, adding that he had to raise prices a bit to get to that level, but not as much as he thought he would have to.
Bambino’s has about 70 employees at two locations, and its annual revenue is $3.2 million-$3.4 million, Faucett said. Faucett said he has owned the restaurant since the mid-1990s. ...
“What we’ve seen is that as wages go up, sales go up and revenue goes up.” ...
At new and used record store Stick It In Your Ear LLC, owner Erik Milan, also speaking on behalf of Missouri Business for a Healthy Economy, said that like Faucett, he also pays his employees well over minimum wage already.
“There wouldn’t be anything changing for me – that would just be mandatory,” he said. “My guys do a good job. We wouldn’t be here and doing what we’re doing if it wasn’t for them.” ...
“I bought the business in 2019, and I worked for many employers before that. I know what it’s like not to be able to make ends meet,” he said. “I don’t want my guys to feel like that." ...
Milan said all of his employees – he has four working full time, not counting himself – are knowledgeable and helpful. ... They strive to make a welcoming environment for everybody, he said. ...
Milan said he offers two weeks of paid vacation time, and where sick leave is concerned, ... "the guys can get as much time as they need without having to worry about their job,” he said. ...