Journal News (NY)
Editorial, March 6, 2013

Pretend you were advising the state Senate on whether to increase the minimum wage in New York, a leader among the states in income inequality: Would you take your counsel from Costco CEO Craig Jelinek, who knows something about job creation and the bottom line, or would you take your lead from the state Assembly, which just voted to boost the hourly minimum to $9?

It was a trick question: It would be wise to listen to both.

On Tuesday, the Costco executive came out in favor of...

By Ashley Lutz
Business Insider, March 6, 2013 

Big-box warehouse store Costco is often compared with Walmart's Sam's Club. Both stores are places where people go to buy in bulk and save money.  

But while Walmart employees are striking for higher wages and health care, Costco has some of the happiest employees in the business.

Costco pays its employees an average hourly wage of $11.50 to start. After five years, they make $19.50 an hour and get an "extra check," a bonus of more than $2,000 every six months, according to Slate. 

While...

By Alana Semuels
Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2013

... businesses applauded a bill introduced in Congress to raise the minimum wage, and even sent out a news release vocalizing their support for doing so. They included retailer Costco and smaller businesses such as British American Auto Care in Columbia, Md., and Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis, Mo.

So what gives? Why are some businesses bucking the trend and calling for a change in policy that would so clearly increase their expenses, especially at a time when finances are stable at best? And why Costco...

The big-box warehouse store says better wages lead to better employee retainment, a better business culture and - in the long run - stronger stock prices

By Bruce Kennedy
MSN Money, March 6, 2013

... On Tuesday, Democratic Senators Tom Harkin of Iowa and George Miller of California introduced a measure that would raise the hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 -- and add an annual adjustment to keep pace with the cost-of-living index.

Several business owners have applauded the so-called Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, most notably Craig Jelinek, the president and...

CNN News, March 6, 2013

DON LEMON … The push to raise the minimum wage just got influential support of the CEO of Costco. Craig Jelinek told an advocacy group that better wages make better employees.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange now. So Alison how much could his support influence the new push to raise the minimum wage? 

KOSIK: Well you know Don. It certainly doesn't hurt to have big business behind your cause. Jelinek was actually quoted in a release from the group called "Business for a Fair Minimum Wage"...

By Kent Hoover, Washington Bureau Chief
American Business Journals, March 6, 2013, syndicated

Andy Shallal broke away from the lunchtime crowds at his Busboys and Poets restaurants to go to Capitol Hill and urge Congress to raise the minimum wage.

Why would Shallal, who runs five restaurants in the Washington, D.C., area, want to increase labor costs? Well, for starters, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour wouldn't raise Shallal's labor costs -- he already pays his employees at least $10.25 an hour. A decent wage is part of his business model.

"I am...

Fox Business News, March 6, 2013

WATCH White Castle V.P. Jamie Richardson and Spectronics Corporation President Jon Cooper debate increasing the minimum wage.

Jonathan Kantrowitz blog
Connecticut Post, March 6, 2013 

Business owners applauded the introduction of legislation to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time since 2009. U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (IA) and Rep. George Miller (CA) introduced the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which would gradually raise the federal minimum wage from its current $7.25 an hour to $10.10, then provide for annual increases linked to the rising cost of living.

“At Costco, we know that paying employees good wages makes good sense for business,” said Craig Jelinek, Costco’s President and CEO....

By Bonnie Kavoussi
Huffington Post, March 6, 2013 

President Barack Obama wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 per hour. And the CEO of one of America's largest retailers says such a move would be good for workers and businesses alike. In fact, he says raise it even more.

On Tuesday, Costco CEO and President Craig Jelinek came out in support of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which aims to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, then adjust it after that for inflation.

"At Costco, we know that paying...

By Andrew S. Ross
San Francisco Chronicle, March 5, 2013

On the same day the stock market reached new heights, thanks in part to record corporate profits, there was a renewed attempt to raise the federal minimum wage, which has stayed the same for the past four years. Coincidence?

"Look, it's become clear that corporations paying the minimum wage can now afford to pay more. It's not more complicated than that," said Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, who introduced the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 on Tuesday.

Miller's bill, co-written by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, would raise the federal...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Joined by business leaders and workers, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA) today announced the introduction of legislation, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, to raise the federal minimum wage. Harkin and Miller’s proposal would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour from its current $7.25—in three steps of 95 cents—then provide for automatic annual increases linked to changes in the cost of living. Harkin and Miller’s bill would also gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers—which currently stands at just $2.13 an hour—for the first time...

Puget Sound Business Journal (WA), March 5, 2013

Costco Wholesale Corp. President and CEO Craig Jelinek is putting his name and company in the forefront of the latest drive to increase the federal minimum wage.

Jelinek was prominently quoted in a press release issued Tuesday by the national advocacy group Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.

The announcement coincided with the introduction of a bill in Congress that would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour from $7.25 an hour, with provisions for annual cost-of-living increases. ...

Costco has long advocated employee...

By Paul Frumkin
Nation's Restaurant News, March 5, 2013

Two lawmakers, flanked by a restaurant owner and two quick-service employees, held a press conference Tuesday to jointly introduce a bill seeking to raise the federal minimum wage by nearly 40 percent.

The measure would increase the minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour to $10.10 by 2016. After that, it would be indexed to inflation, which would provide for automatic adjustments every year, according to Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the lawmakers who introduced the bill. …

Speaking at the press...

Saugerties Post Star, March 5, 2013

Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright joined with Labor Committee Chair Carl E. Heastie and members of the Assembly Majority to announce plans to pass legislation (A.38a) today to raise the minimum wage in New York to $9 an hour. The legislation includes indexing which will tie future increases to inflation.

“Our proposal will directly benefit more than 925,000 New Yorkers. It will benefit families trapped between the desire for financial independence and the constant erosion of their wages. By passing this legislation, we will be rewarding...

YNN Capital Tonight, March 5, 2013

As the Assembly took up a bill to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour, advocates are working with members of the business community to try to pressure the Senate. Cynthia DiBartolo, the CEO of Tigress Financial Partners and chair of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, Darius Ross, the managing partner of D Alexander Ross Real Estate Capital Partners, and Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union presidnet Stuart Appelbaum discuss the latest on the issue.

http://capitaltonightny.ynn.com/2013/03/business-and-labor-leaders-talk…