Letters

  • Cilley gets facts wrong on tipped wage

    January 2018 ·  Michael Saltsman ·  Fosters

    State Representative Jackie Cilley makes a number of factual errors in a recent opinion-editorial on the tipped minimum wage. (“It’s time to end slave wages in NH,” Jan. 8.) Cilley claims that restaurants are “only legally obligated” to pay servers an hourly wage of $3.27. This is not true; as any employee can verify on the state’s minimum wage notice, restaurants must by law “guarantee the applicable…
  • Lawmakers incentivize higher wages without mandating them

    December 2017 ·  Michael Saltsman ·  St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    In response to the Trump administration’s tax overhaul, Wells Fargo and Fifth Third Bancorp will raise their minimum wages to $15 per hour (“Corporations pledge to share the wealth,” Dec. 21). AT&T and Comcast also pledged to pay a $1,000 bonus to each of their U.S. employees. It’s a good example of how lawmakers can incentivize higher wages instead of universally mandating them. This year, we saw an…
  • Inappropriate behavior?

    October 2017 ·  Jordan Bruneau ·  News Press

    Hollywood isn’t the only progressive bastion dealing with a crisis of bad behavior. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) recently suspended executive vice president and Fight for $15 architect Scott Courtney for inappropriate behavior with female employees. Courtney has subsequently resigned. Courtney allegedly had a pattern of dating subordinates in return for promotions. Like Harvey Weinstein, Courtney’s transgressions were an “open secret” among women who worked with…
  • Union campaign a failure

    September 2017 ·  Michael Saltsman ·  Naples Daily News

    This Labor Day, employers and employees had reason to be grateful: The union-backed campaign to eliminate starter jobs is failing. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has spent at least $90 million since 2012 fighting for a $15 minimum wage. Thus far, the campaign has generated few organizing wins for the union, but plenty of embarrassing headlines. In localities on the East and West coasts that have embraced…
  • Minimum wage hike costs low-wage workers

    June 2017 ·  Michael Saltsman ·  Charleston Gazette Mail

    While most Americans celebrate this holiday weekend, employees and small businesses in Seattle have less to be excited about. According to a new University of Washington study, the city’s experiment with a $13 minimum wage has reduced opportunities for employees in the city. Instead of boosting pay, affected employees on average brought home $125 less per month, as the higher hourly pay was offset by a loss in…
  • $15-an-hour minimum wage would kill jobs

    May 2017 ·  Michael Saltsman ·  Savannah Now

    A new bill introduced this week would raise the federal minimum wage by 107 percent to $15 an hour. Economists agree that it’s a terrible idea. A 2015 University of New Hampshire survey found that nearly three-quarters of surveyed U.S. labor economists were opposed to a broad $15 minimum wage. The vast majority of these economists responded that a $15 minimum wage would have negative effects on…