When the minimum wage increases again Jan. 1, it will be difficult for the Gardiner Food Co-op and Café to absorb the cost.
But Board Chairman Doug Zogby is determined not to pass it along to members and customers.
“We’re not going to raise our prices as a result of that,” he said. “As much as I would like to raise prices to absorb the hit, we are already more expensive than Hannaford and the big box stores.”
Effective Sunday, the state minimum wage will increase from $12.75 to $13.80 per hour, an annual adjustment required by state law.
In 2021, about 79,000 Mainers earned between $12.15 — the minimum that year — and $14.99 per hour, the state’s best estimate of how many people make minimum wage or a bit above, according to the Maine Department of Labor.
With a tight labor market, many employers have been forced to offer higher than minimum wage to fill jobs. For example, the McDonald’s on Western Avenue in Augusta is advertising jobs that pay up to $18 an hour.
Raising the minimum wage also helps other workers because employers are likely to bump up the pay of other hourly employees to keep up, said James Myall, economic policy analyst at the Maine Center for Economic Policy.
And the 2016 Maine law that ties the increase to the cost of living helps those who are struggling to pay for gas, groceries and heating oil.
“When you are on minimum wage, often every penny counts,” he said. “They don’t have savings to absorb the increase in costs.”
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