The Boston Globe reports:
Massachusetts has the highest state minimum wage in the country following the $1 increase to $11 an hour that went into effect Sunday, but campaigns are already underway here and across the country for the lowest-paid workers to earn much more.
There's more:
The owner of two family entertainment centers in Massachusetts said she has reduced her staff to 20 people, down from 50, over the past two years, to counteract rising payroll costs.
The employer, who asked not to be named because she feared repercussions from workers’ advocates, said she and her husband have cut their hours of operation, replaced their DJ with canned music, and are working more themselves to stay afloat. They have also stopped hiring teenagers in favor of more experienced workers.
At Winthrop Marketplace, Marc Wallerce estimates that his payroll will have risen $100,000 over the course of the three wage increases, which includes insurance and workers’ compensation costs tied to salaries. His older workers all make well over $11 an hour, so the raises have mostly been going to the students he employs at the grocery store.
You can count on the demand for labor always being a downward sloping curve.
