Posted on 08/02/2015 11:51:39 AM PDT by rickmichaels
He hit headlines earlier this year for declaring every one of his 120 employees would earn a minimum wage of $70,000.
But now Dan Price - CEO of Seattle-based credit card processing firm Gravity Payments, who lowered his $1 million salary to better compensate employees - has fallen on hard times as a result of his bold move.
However the 31-year-old, who is renting out his house to keep the salary increases going, refuses to give up.
'I'm working as hard as I ever worked to make it work,' he told The New York Times.
'I haven’t made this little amount of money since I was in my early 20s.'
Two weeks after making the announcement in April, two of Price's 'most valued' employees quit.
They said they were angry that lower-skilled employees were being paid a similar salary.
'He gave raises to people who have the least skills and are the least equipped to do the job, and the ones who were taking on the most didn't get much of a bump,' Gravity's financial manager Maisey McMaster told The Times.
McMaster, 26, who has quit the company, said Price treated her as if she was being selfish when she told him of her concerns with the wage changes.
'That really hurt me,' she said.
'I was talking about not only me, but everyone.'
Clients also left, worried the salary increases would cost them more in fees.
Then Price's older brother, Lucas Price, a co-founder of Gravity Payments, filed a lawsuit against his sibling.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Okay, I admit to smiling. However, it is nice when a liberal puts his own money up instead of somebody else’s.
Men who ride unicorns should not be handling other peoples money.
There goes the libs income inequality meme.
The hard times seem to be trivial. Two whiners left because they want to make more than others who they deem less valuable. (not their call to make)
This only matters if they weren’t immediately replaced by two other people with similar skills. The story didn’t say those two jobs haven’t been filled to the satisfaction of the company. They likely found two skilled people, who believe in his concept, and like the idea of 70k a year.
And his minority position brother launched a lawsuit to try to grab some loot. And he is adjusting his lifestyle to 70k a year.
Hard times/
Sorry, but hierarchy is in the nature of things.
He didn’t realize the software developers, who were already making $70K and over, wouldn’t be too thrilled to learn the mailroom kid was making the same. What a dummy. Lol.
His company... His money...
Socialism... We all fail together
Darn! where can I apply for my $70,000 job with this company?
He probably thought his announcement would create positive advertisement and liberals would line up to buy his services.... He thought wrong!
Yep. That’s exactly what he thought was going to happen.
Got the opposite. Oops.
Gee, could it be that not every employee is WORTH $70k a year? < /sarc >
Paging Mr. Galt...
Its not as one sided as this selected edit claims, it certainly isn’t all roses for this guy and his company, but I would suggest reading the full article the linked one decided to selectively quote from at the NYT rather than this clearly one sided excerpt.
Time will tell what will happen with this company, but the source article is hardly a full on indictment than they are failing because of his decisions.
Actually you need to go read the original article, you will find they have seen an increase in customers etc... while they have lost others. I doubt this guys plan will work as he envisioned myself, but the original story is hardly one of the complete failure that this selected edit one that is linked to provides.
You miss the point. If this happens over and over again, the effect is cumulative over time. Even if the effect is small now, it increases each time.
Its his company, so he can certainly do what he has done. The question is, was his decision good for his business. In my view he made two big mistakes.
1. By announcing a minimum wage, every employee knows the floor for all employees. Therefore, everyone can compare their salaries against the floor and evaluate where they stand. If they consider themselves more valuable with other employees, but are obviously being paid the minimum, they are going to be disgruntled.
2. By either eliminating or narrowing the range of salaries that recognize difference in ability, education, and experience, the owner is devaluing workers who may be smarter, more capable, and harder working. That will drive the work force to a common denominator, mediocrity. Everyone will soon work at the level of the least motivated and skilled worker. The two people who walked are a symptom of this dynamic. Bad move.
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