By Eric Morath
Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2014
Stymied by Congress on their minimum-wage push, low-wage workers and even Obama administration officials are pleading for U.S. companies to raise wages voluntarily. ... Pesident Barack Obama is singling out companies—from retailer Gap Inc. to Punch Neapolitan Pizza, a tiny Minnesota pizza joint—that committed to paying workers more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. … Earlier this year, Mr. Obama visited a Maryland Costco store to highlight the retailer's starting wage of $11.50 an hour. ...
Gina Schaefer, the owner of nine Ace stores in Maryland and the District of Columbia, has been an advocate for raising the minimum wage. Her workers start at $10 an hour. She says the higher pay reduces employee turnover and results in better customer service.
Last month, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez highlighted one of her stores that sits a few blocks from his office when rallying support for a federal minimum-wage increase. "We have really fantastic customer service," Ms. Schaefer said. "And the big reason is we provide a better wage and can increase expectations of our workforce."
—Shelly Banjo and Julie Jargon contributed to this article.
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