Boss raises entire company's minimum wage to $70,000
SEATTLE, Washington - The founder of a Seattle-based credit card processing company recently announced that he will take a large salary cut so he can increase the pay for each employee to at least $70,000 a year. Dan Price says he made the decision after hearing about a study that claimed income, to a certain level, directly affects one's emotional well-being.
The New York Times reported that Price, the head of Gravity Payments, told his 120 person staff about the plan after talking to friends about the difficulties of making $40,000 a year.
Price said he will cut his nearly $1 million salary to $70,000 and use about 80 percent of the business' anticipated profit to increase the salary of about 70 employees. About 30 employees, including the lowest-paid clerk, will see their salaries increase to the $70,000 threshold. The workers reportedly clapped and cheered when he made the announcement at the Seattle office.
"I'm completely blown away right now," Hayley Vogt, 24, who earned $45,000 a year at the company, told the paper. "Everyone is talking about this $15 minimum wage in Seattle and it's nice to work someplace where someone is actually doing something about it and not just talking about it."