Local Business Starts Minimum Wage Campaign
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With little hope of the state government raising the minimum wage, one local business owner has taken matters into his own hands.
Ken Weinstein is owner of Trolley Car Diner and Trolley Car Cafe. This week, he independently launched the Wage Change Campaign, which asks business owners to voluntarily raise the minimum wage to eight dollars this year, and an additional dollar each year until it reaches eleven dollars in the year 2020.
"I started this campaign asking four other restaurant owners who own a total of ten restaurants to join me and none of them declined," he said.
In fact, Amy Edelman, owner of Night Kitchen Bakery has already been paying her employees above the minimum wage for several years, now.
"My goal was to be able to keep people as long as possible because it cuts down on mistakes and mistakes cost money," Edelman said.
Weinstein said the program will cost him.
"This is gonna cost us $24,000 a year with an $8 minimum wage, which will go up to $126,000 a year when the minimum wage hits $11 hour."
But he's not worried.
"It will come out of profit, but we believe revenues will ultimately go up."