Don’t think entry level jobs are at risk as government-mandated minimum wages climb higher and higher? Read this column by former McDonald’s USA President and CEO Ed Rensi.
When the Chamber was campaigning against Proposition 206, the recently passed ballot measure that will hike the minimum wage in Arizona by nearly 50 percent and institute a new paid leave benefit, we were accused of crying wolf about its negative effects. Rensi has gotten the same treatment in his warnings about the Fight for $15 movement, a labor union-backed campaign to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
So, here’s a quick truth squad look at what’s really happening in this job-killing march.
Out-of-state dough, not local grassroots. The campaign behind the Fight For $15 is not some local, grassroots effort. Proposition 206 wasn’t either. Make no mistake, big money, out-of-state labor unions are driving this train.
Take a look at the campaign finance reports for Proposition 206 and you’ll see millions of dollars from out-of-state interests affiliated with organized labor.
Worsening jobs picture in cities with local wage hikes. Rensi’s column rattles off examples of the worsening jobs picture in cities that have elected to implement local ordinances that hike the minimum wage at a city-level. We’ve got our own examples in Arizona. Take a look at this photo that was taken at a Flagstaff restaurant after that city voted to institute a $15 minimum wage.
Increased wage pressures send job creators elsewhere. The crowd that’s pushing the minimum-wage-hike agenda is really in the job exportation business.
Job creators seek attractive, competitive environments. Higher costs of doing business – including higher labor costs – push jobs away.
Higher minimum wages in California are sending job creators packing. A recent San Diego Union-Tribune story looked at the case of call center operator Competitive Edge Research & Communications that is moving from San Diego to El Paso. Why? San Diego will have an $11.50 hourly minimum wage as of January 1. California’s statewide minimum wage is on the way to $15 by 2022. El Paso’s minimum wage is the same as the rest of Texas: $7.25.
When the proponents of higher mandated wages wonder why jobs are fleeing the state, especially those with entry-level wages and that usually employ workers with fewer skills, they only need to look in the mirror.
Check out Glenn’s latest Bottom Line for a deeper dive on the implications of Arizona’s new minimum wage and paid leave law.
