I understand there is a bill in the works S.460 by Sen. Thomas Harkin [D, IA] who is working to increase the Federal Minimum wage... I believe this bill is moving to increase to 9 dollars per hour, and however nice that is for unskilled labor, I think we can do better...
The Costco CEO and President Craig Jelinek was quoted in "Puget Sound Business Journal" as saying:
"At Costco, we know that paying employees good wages makes good sense for business," Jelinek said in a statement. "We pay a starting hourly wage of $11.50 in all states where we do business, and we are still able to keep our overhead costs low."
The work at Costco is considered unskilled labor, for the most part, stocking shelves, working registers, mopping floors, and these workers go home to their families with dignity.