By Natalie Wright, Maria Rigou, Jon Price
Washtenaw Voice, Washtenaw Community College (MI), April 7, 2014
... During his visit to the University of Michigan last week, Obama addressed an audience of more than a thousand U-M students and other special guests, speaking to them with an air of cool approachability. But before addressing wide-ranging issues from minimum wage, partisan politics, immigration reform, and student loans to economic and social inequalities, Obama spoke to the students about his failed “March Madness” bracket – and his lunch at Zingerman’s Deli. ...
Why Zingerman’s?
Obama has frequented Ann Arbor enough times that he knows “the right thing to do when you’re in Ann Arbor” is to stop by local favorite, Zingerman’s, he said. He said he picked the deli for two reasons.
“The first is, the Reuben is killer,” he said (laughs from the audience). “The second reason, though, is Zingerman’s is a business that treats its workers well and rewards honest work with honest wages.
“And that’s worth celebrating.”
Zingerman’s owner Paul Saginaw is known for lobbying in Washington D.C. for federal minimum wage increases.
“Paul’s message is simple,” Obama said. “Higher wages and higher profits are not mutually exclusive."
“I decided several months ago that the federal government should follow their lead.” ...
Obama needs Congress to act
Raising wages, Obama said, is not just a decision for those in the political arena, but also for employers, like Saginaw. But putting the raise into law is the ultimate goal, he said.
For that, Congress needs to get involved.
“What Zingerman’s can do on its own, what I can do as the head of the executive branch of the federal government, that doesn’t help everybody.” ...