By Sabrina Korber    
Dec 24, 2014

In the final hours to fulfill your holiday gift lists you might think consumers aren't focused on being socially responsible in their shopping, but you'd be wrong. Consumers say they're increasingly searching for ways to shop—and give—that reflect their values, whether that means buying local, seeking out products with sustainable packaging or donating to a good cause.

While many say consumers are just paying lip service to good intentions, 55 percent of consumers surveyed across the globe say they will pay extra for products and services from companies...

By Vladislav Kachka
Bloomberg BNA Daily Labor Report, December 23, 2014

Minimum wage roundup citing Business for a Fair Minimum Wage CEO Holly Sklar, hardware store owner Gina Schaefer and South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce CEO Frank Knapp.

Lack of action by federal lawmakers on increasing the minimum wage is causing state legislatures and even some city councils to tackle the issues. Ballot initiatives are being used to effect change in states and cities where elected officials have not embraced the issue. ...

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Reproduced with permission...

Bake Mag, Dec. 23, 2014

When the new year begins, 21 states will have minimum wage increases with strong support from business owners. These include 12 states that enacted increases through legislation and ballot measures and 9 states that adjust their minimum wage annually to keep up with the cost of living. Business owners believe these state minimum wage increases make good business sense and would also like to see Congress raise the federal minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009, to benefit the U.S. economy nationwide. ...

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By Megan Crepeau
Redeye Chicago, December 4, 2014

... Local businesses are recalibrating their plans after the [Chicago] minimum wage increase, which starts phasing in next year with a bump from $8.25 to $10 on July 1. ... Not all Chicago business owners oppose the increase.

“I was excited and happy that it passed,” said Elizabeth Colon, president of Metaphrasis Language & Cultural Solutions in West Town. “I’ve had my company for eight years, but I’ve never paid minimum wage to anyone. I just felt that I wanted talent and I wanted someone to be...

By Carrie Shepherd
WBEZ (Chicago) Morning Shift, December 3, 2014

Chicago passes ordinance to increase minimum wage
There are about 400,000 minimum wage earners in Chicago who [will] be directly affected by the city’s new minimum wage ordinance ... The City’s Council approved a plan pushed by the Mayor that will see the city’s minimum wage hit $13 an hour by 2019. Beginning next year the wage will go up to $10 an hour from the current $8.25 an hour. It’s not entirely a done deal- the law could be challenged in court. But for...

Letter to the Editor By Tim Frick
Daily Herald (IL), Dec 1, 2014

As a business owner in the Chicago area, I'm tired of hearing politicians and pundits claim that raising the minimum wage will hurt small business to justify their own opposition. Nothing could be further from the truth. Raising the minimum wage is smart business and smart policy to jump-start our economy now and strengthen it for the long term.

Illinois businesses need more customers with more money to buy our products and services. Workers at one business are customers at other businesses...

By Evan F. Moore
Southtown Star, November 21, 2014

A coalition of community members — from low-wage workers and families, to clergy, local officials and small-business owners [including Peter Athans, business development director of Mightybytes] — gathered last week in Harvey to advocate for raising the state’s minimum wage. Similar events took place elsewhere in Illinois, hoping to garner attention as the General Assembly opened its fall session.

The gathering in Harvey on Tuesday was at the Human Development Center, which seemed appropriate because its board president, Anthony L. McCaskill, said the nonprofit is ahead of...

Rockford Record American, Nov 19, 2014

The Raise Illinois coalition launched a series of press events across the state Nov. 18 to call on lawmakers to immediately pass legislation during this year’s veto session to raise the minimum wage for working families.

Raise Illinois said voters delivered an overwhelming mandate during this election with 67 percent in support for increasing the minimum wage by Jan. 1, 2015, and that the state legislature must deliver real results for working families in Illinois. Support for the $10 minimum wage was bipartisan, with the minimum wage ballot question...

By Dave Boucher
The Tennessean, Nov 19, 2014

As U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez toured Nashville business Letter Logic Wednesday, he said the employees he spoke with noted the culture of the business as their favorite part of their jobs. The culture of the transactional printing company includes employees earning at least $12 an hour, significantly higher than the $7.25 federal hourly minimum wage in place at many Tennessee businesses. ...

Tennessee has the highest percentage of minimum wage workers in the nation, but is one of the only states without a minimum wage law...

By Scott Harrison
Nashville Business Journal, Nov 19, 2014

Thomas Perez, the U.S. secretary of labor, says the Tennessee economy would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage. Perez was in Nashville Wednesday, meeting with local business leaders to discuss the minimum wage issue. I caught up with him after that roundtable discussion, which was closed to the media.

"The level of attrition in the businesses is all very low," Perez said of turnover at the Nashville business owners he met. "They made a compelling business case for why fair wages and good profits...

Rock River Times, Nov 18, 2014

CHICAGO — The Raise Illinois coalition launched a series of press events across the state Nov. 18 to call on lawmakers to immediately pass legislation during this year’s veto session to raise the minimum wage for working families. ...

A diverse set of Raise Illinois coalition partners, which included low-wage workers and families, faith, civic, community and small business leaders joined lawmakers at press events and rallies across the state, including Chicago and surrounding suburbs, as well as Rockford, Peoria, Quad Cities and Metro East. ...

Dmitri Syrkin-Nikolau, founder...

By Joyce Rosenberg
Associated Press (AP), Nov 5, 2014

... MINIMUM WAGE

Republicans have opposed Obama’s calls for the federal hourly minimum wage to be raised to $10.10 from $7.25. But voters in five states cast ballots in favor of a higher minimum, including usually conservative Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.

The success of those referendums and legislative votes this year to raise the minimum in 10 other states may encourage Republicans to support a higher federal minimum, says Holly Sklar, director of the advocacy group Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. They may also be...

By Eric Morath and Matt Stiles
Wall Street Journal, Nov 5, 2014

The success of referendums in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota and legislative votes this year to raise the minimum wage in 10 other states may encourage more Republicans to support a higher federal minimum, says Holly Sklar, director of the advocacy group Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. - Assocated Press

Minimum-wage increases spread deeper into conservative areas of the U.S., with ballot measures winning in four states despite widespread losses for Democrats …

And already there’s preliminary planning for minimum-wage ballot initiatives...

By Daphne Howland
Retail Dive, November 5, 2014 

Dive Brief:

Despite a strong showing by Republicans, who often oppose minimum wage hikes and sometimes minimum wages at all, voters across the country approved minimum wage increases in a midterm election year. ... Experts told CNBC that there could also be a shift in attitude among Congressional Republicans regarding a minimum wage hike, but that it would likely be tied to tax reform.

Dive Insight:

President Barack Obama has kept pressure on the idea of raising the minimum wage, and the issue has gained traction in an era...

By Kent Hoover
American City Business Journals, Nov 5, 2014

Voters in state elections did everything from raise the minimum wage to legalize marijuana on Election Day. Here are three developments that are particularly relevant to business:

Most states now have minimum wages higher than the federal rate

Even as Republicans gained complete control of Congress, a Democratic issue — raising the minimum wage — was a winner in four Republican states. Voters in Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Alaska approved ballot measures increasing the minimum wage in their states. This brings the number of...