As consumers in greater Newburyport we have more power than you can imagine.
Retailers are fighting for our loyalty and visits and perhaps we should spend a little bit more time thinking about what business policies are sustainable for both the environment and for people.
When Elizabeth Warren recently made the argument that the minimum wage would be $22-per hour if it had bothered to keep up with productivity and inflation many jumped up to say it would hurt small businesses. What those business owners don’t understand is that times they are a changing. They have changed. Companies like Trader Joe’s have grown by treating all workers more fairly, giving customers a great shopping experience and keeping a social conscience. Customers see and feel the difference when employees feel engaged and respected.
Trader Joe’s after market policy is to donate products that are not fit for sale but are safe for consumption. Every store has a designated Donation Coordinator, whose responsibilities include working with local food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens in their communities to facilitate donations, seven days a week. They start employees above the minimum wage and offer superior benefits to most entry level jobs. They can do all this by shifting priorities. Spending less on weekly advertising of artificial sales. Buying a small but select group of products from ethical producers and keeping management salaries in line.
Time is at a premium for most of us but new resources like the Green Alliance highlight companies doing it right. Face book pages like Honestly Good Greater Newburyport try to find businesses with a conscience. Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) allows you to invest your 401k money in firms that have not veered onto the dark side. It is becoming easier and easier to make the right choices. To paraphrase Bobby Kennedy, every time you stand up for someone who can’t do it for themselves you send forth a small ripple of hope. Together these ripples can become a strong current of change carving out a brand new landscape.
———————-
“The average American cashier makes $20,230 a year, a salary that in a single-earner household would leave a family of four living under the poverty line. But if he works the cash registers at QuikTrip, it’s an entirely different story. The convenience-store and gas-station chain offers entry-level employees an annual salary of around $40,000, plus benefits. Those high wages didn’t stop QuikTrip from prospering in a hostile economic climate. While other low-cost retailers spent the recession laying off staff and shuttering stores, QuikTrip expanded to its current 645 locations across 11 states.
Many employers believe that one of the best ways to raise their profit margin is to cut labor costs. But companies like QuikTrip, the grocery-store chain Trader Joe’s, and Costco Wholesale are proving that the decision to offer low wages is a choice, not an economic necessity. ”