$15 Not Enough! Big Box Retailer Moves to $16 Minimum Wage

Now that the Democrats have a slight majority throughout our federal government, there are a number of major liberal policy changes that have the far-left licking their chops.

The Green New Deal, immigration overhauls, and a $15 minimum wage are all now up for grabs, with that last one looking more and more like a reality every day.

For CostCo, that simply wasn’t good enough.

Costco will raise its minimum wage to $16 an hour starting next week, CEO Craig Jelinek said during a Senate Budget Committee hearing on Thursday.

“Since Costco’s inception, the company has been committed to paying the employees very competitive retail wages and providing them broad and affordable health care benefits,” Jelinek said. “Two years ago, we moved our starting hourly wage to $15 everywhere in the U.S. Effective next week, the starting wage will go to $16.”

“It’s important to us that Costco employees have opportunities to make more than just $15 or $16 an hour. Costco employees receive regular increases for hours worked,” he said.

The $16 an hour boost puts its starting wages above Target’s and Amazon’s. Target implemented a $15 per hour minimum wage in July, while Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15 in 2018.

The move will almost certainly pressure other major retailers to consider the same, which could have an exponential impact on the cost of goods throughout the nation, as well as expand on other negative impacts that many economists have predicated as we increase the minimum wage.