By Jonathan Maze
Nation's Restaurant News, June 8, 2016

It’s one thing to love your job. It’s another to love your job so much that you’re willing to have your company tattooed to your skin. But that is indeed what’s happened with &pizza, the fast growing, Washington DC-based pizza chain — where a company tattoo is a unique benefit. About 50 workers have the company’s ampersand logo somewhere on their person.

“It really started about four years ago, when I was working in the first pizza shop,” CEO Michael Lastoria said. “We just developed a strong...

CBS/AP
CBS News, MoneyWatch, June 7, 2016

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers in the nation's capital have approved a $15-an-hour minimum wage. That puts the District of Columbia alongside a number of other cities and the states of California and New York in mandating pay raises for retail, restaurant and service-industry workers.

The D.C. Council unanimously approved the wage increase, and Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser has pledged to sign it when it reaches her desk, likely sometime this summer. The bill would raise the wage gradually until it hits $15 in 2020. After that, future increases would be tied to...

By Ryan M. McDermott
The Washington Times, June 7, 2016

D.C. officials, business owners and labor unions reached an agreement Tuesday to raise the District's minimum wage to $15 an hour, but some business advocacy groups said the legislation will likely kill jobs or force companies to move to Virginia. Under the agreement, the minimum wage — currently $10.50 per hour and scheduled to rise to $11.50 on July 1 — will increase to $15 by 2020. The wage will be linked to inflation and rise automatically after that. The minimum wage for tipped workers — currently $2.77 an hour — will grow to $5 per hour by 2022, with automatic increases linked to inflation thereafter. ...

But a coalition of city business owners, including Busboys and Poets restaurateur Andy Shallal, supported the $15 minimum wage measure.

By Megan Cloherty
WTOP, June 7, 2016

WASHINGTON — The D.C. Council on Tuesday approved a $15-an-hour minimum wage bill. Mayor Muriel Bowser has promised to sign the measure, which will raise the wage by 2020. ... Minimum wage workers in the District currently make $10.50. That rate will increase to $11.50 in July ...

“In addition we’ll have a tipped minimum wage that will increase to $5 in 2020. And thereafter, it will increase in pursuant to the Consumer Price Index,” said at-large Council member Vincent Orange before the vote. ...

“The fight for 15 is something we’ve been behind all along,”...

By Nick Twietmeyer, UW News Lab / Special to CHS
Capitol Hill Seattle, June 3, 2016

Slowly but surely, the concept of a tipless restaurant is gaining a foothold on Capitol Hill. It has been a year since Lionhead and the Renee Erickson trio of Bateau, Bar Mesuline, and General Porpoise ditched tips in favor of a service charge and flat hourly wages for their staff. Several of Seattle’s high profile restauranteurs have followed suit while others on Capitol Hill saythey are exploring the model. Some have cited Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law and concerns over a decrease in tipping as their rationale for the move. Capitol...

The Gourmet Retailer, May 25, 2016

As the minimum wage is debated around the country, MOM's Organic Market has decided to raise its minimum wage to $12 per hour. Scott Nash, founder/CEO of the natural food store, has long contended higher wages lead to increased morale and productivity, easier recruiting and higher retention.

"This is not an act of charity, but rather an investment," he said. "Without a doubt, our most valuable asset here at MOM's is our people."

Taking it to the Hill
Just last month, Nash testified on Capitol Hill at a forum held by...

By Adam H. Callaghan
Seattle Eater, May 25, 2016

In a win for workers this week, McDonald's and other large chains formally withdrew their lawsuit against Seattle's $15 minimum wage law. Represented by the International Franchise Association and supported by the National Restaurant Association, major fast food chains sued the City of Seattle last year. They sought to halt the section of Seattle's minimum wage law that put them on an accelerated pace to implement the new wage, well in advance of other businesses.

The disputed law took effect April 1, 2015, and requires companies with over 500 employees...

By Rachel Powers
Orange Coast Magazine, May 16, 2016

The 38-year-old CEO took over Earth Friendly Products two years ago from her father, company founder Van Vlahakis, after he died. Vlahakis-Hanks, who had worked in all facets of the business, has become a careful steward of her father’s vision. But she has made her own mark, too. Why five production facilities to make the company’s natural cleaning products? “When I deliver to the distribution centers of my local retail partners, I’m right there in their backyards. It enables us to stay carbon-neutral, and I can cross...

Op-Ed By Andy Shallal
Washington Post, May 13, 2016

Andy Shallal, who ran for D.C. mayor in 2014, owns the restaurants Busboys and Poets and Mulebone.

Every month, an average of more than 1,000 people move to the District. Small and large businesses are starting and thriving in every corner of our city. Restaurants have been popping up seemingly faster than mushrooms.

This unprecedented growth has not been without its challenges. It is no secret that the District is less affordable than ever and the disparity of wealth is wide. This situation is not sustainable or desirable in...

By Carol Coultas
Portland Press Herald, May 10, 2016

The Legislature may have adjourned, but talk of the minimum wage endures. Voters will be asked on November’s ballot to endorse a measure to raise the state’s $7.50 minimum wage incrementally to $12 by 2020. That coupled with Portland’s recent hike of the minimum wage to $10.10 drew the interest of The Christian Science Monitor, which was in town to write about Maine’s minimum wage efforts. ...

On a national platform, at least one Mainer is stumping to raise the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020. Margo...

Op-Ed By Gary Gerber, CEO, Sun Light & Power
Paying our employees a living wage — and more — has always made good business sense to me. Now the state is finally catching up ...

By Simon Montlake
Christian Science Monitor, May 7, 2016

PORTLAND, MAINE — On a gray midweek morning, Jessica Rogers kneads pizza dough inside a downtown food court. A 20-something theater graduate, she’s working two jobs to pay the rent and put aside money for acting school in the fall. Across town at the Squeaky Clean laundromat, Lorena White ... puts in 27 hours a week and alternates with her husband, a hotel banquet server, in taking care of their teenage son.

In January, both women got a pay bump to $10.10 an hour, the new minimum wage in...

The News, Nashville, May 5, 2016

Last week, a small business owner from Nashville travelled to Washington DC to testify before Congress about how businesses and the economy will benefit if the federal minimum wage is raised above the current rate of $7.25 per hour. Speaking to the House Democratic Caucus Forum, the founder and CEO of LetterLogic, Sherry Stewart Deutschmann shared her own experiences as a business person who pays her employees $16 an hour, 45% above the minimum wage amount.

“Until a few years ago our entry-level pay was $12 an hour. At that time...

By Elaine Pofeldt
CNBC, May 6, 2016

With a debate heating up over how the rise in the minimum wage will affect job growth — especially in the small-business arena — new findings reveal surprising truths.

In their latest survey of small-business owners, Manta, a social network for entrepreneurs, found they were almost evenly split on the issue, with 51 percent favoring raising the minimum wage and 49 percent against it. ... John Swanciger, CEO of Manta, said he was initially surprised by the percentage of small-business owners who support a minimum wage increase. But after studying Manta's...